Lilium Inter Spinas
by OrangeHush
Summary: An odd supernatural South Park tale featuring FFNet OCs. Some of of our favorite South Park residents get on with the business of high school with the occasional trip to hell... Language/drinking/drug use/naughtiness. R&R. Epilogue up. COMPLETE.
1. Judgement

**Yeah, yeah. I know Tweak doesn't have a little sister. Creative license ftw. Anyway, shooting for a multi-chapter crazy little fic including some of my favorites, Tweak, Craig, Kenny, Stan.. etc. Multiple POVs. Might have room for other OC's later. First fic! **

**South Park, of course, is the property of T. Parker and M. Stone. Ella Tweak belongs to me. **

*

The bell shrilled signaling the end of third period trigonometry class and the race to the cafeteria, which ordinarily was no cause for rushing but today was Friday and Friday was pizza day.

Stan Marsh closed his trig book with a snap and stuffed it in his bag. Newly sixteen years old, his shoulders had broadened over the summer, his legs lengthened. He'd looked forward to the start of his sophomore year and now in late October everything seemed to be going well. Football, classes and, best of all, he'd passed his drivers test with a nearly perfect score. Standing, he shouldered his backpack and flipped his long black bangs out of his eyes, stuffing a blue cap on his head. Yep. Everything going really well… except for Wendy Testaburger.

Wendy was, at present, arguing heatedly with Eric Cartman as they filed out of the classroom ahead of Stan.

"What-EVER you hippie skank." Cartman waved a hand dismissively at her as he hurried towards the door, evidently more worried about pizza than getting a rise out of Wendy. Eric Cartman too had changed physically since their younger years, Stan thought as he followed silently behind them, checking his texts. (Most of which were from Kyle.) Cartman, while still sizeable, had exchanged some of his fat for bulky muscle and was currently Park High's starring linebacker. Wendy, who had decided that Stan was too "banal" to be bothered with at some point last July, was still relatively cute although (in what Kenny insisted was the ultimate irony) relatively flat-chested. Lately she'd been on some kind of one-woman bitch crusade, and Stan was determined to lie low and concentrate on the big homecoming game against Conifer High.

A cry of "Stanny!" came from somewhere behind him. The voice, a distinctive husky coo, could only belong to Bebe Stevens and while Stan occasionally considered taking Bebe for a test drive, he would also be perfectly content to slam her face into a locker every time she called him Stanny. Stan cringed, but slowed his step so Bebe could catch up with him. His nose twitched at Bebe's generous application of perfume, but found his eyes wandering over her body anyway as she chatted about third period home ec. Bebe was extremely popular, obscenely gorgeous, fairly smart and also happened to be a relatively kind person, only she never, EVER shut up.

Stan made his way through the cafeteria, bumping into Kyle Broflovski as they both reached for a lone carton of chocolate milk. Kyle, also sixteen, seemed to be going through some kind of awkward phase at the moment, all knees and elbows. His distinctive red curls had mellowed into a deep auburn at some point and he presently wore them long and tied back, despite Cartman's repeated threats to hold him and shave his 'goddamn hippie head'.

"Go on dude. Take it.." Kyle offered and picked up two cartons of white milk. "I'll have plain."

"Thanks.." Stan reached out his hand for the chocolate only to find it missing.

"Mmm.. chocolate milk.." Cartman said gleefully, shoving past Stan and heading towards their usual table in the cafeteria.

"Fatass." Kyle and Stan said in unison as Stan grabbed a plain milk as well.

Stan settled himself beside Red at the table, who was attempting to ignore Cartman's tirade about gingers and read a book. In the past, Stan had been frustrated by Red's giggly gossiping nature, but she seemed to have toned down a bit. She was nearly as popular as Bebe, still a gossip, but was now a cheerleader and very active in student government. As Wendy and Kyle took their seats, the girls fell to chatting about clothes, homecoming and Craig Tucker, captain of the hockey team and (they all agreed) still a complete asshole.

"Kahl. Gimme your pizza. It's not kosher." Cartman demanded, reaching for the slice of pepperoni making it's way towards Kyle's mouth.

"Fuck off Cartman. You know I don't.." Kyle stopped as Red squealed loudly.

"Ooooooooh! You guys!" Red pointed to the empty end of the table, having just noticed a single pink rose laying in a bed of greens, a simple white card attached to it.

Bebe scooted over and picked it up, examining the card. It just says "For the fairest…" She shrugged and gave a little smirk. "I guess someone must have left it here for me." She settled back in her seat and sniffed the rose which had an intoxicating perfume. "Mmm.."

Wendy made an indignant noise. "You would assume that Bebe, but there are three of us who usually sit at this table. It could just as easily be for me!" Wendy leaned over and plucked the rose from Bebe's hands, and examined the card closely. The ink was blood red, and she didn't recognize the handwriting.

Red dog-eared the page of her novel and leaned across, taking the rose from Wendy. "Or me. Some men are very partial to redheads you know, Wendy." She too looked at the card and sniffed the rose and then looked up, glaring as both Wendy and Bebe snorted and giggled.

Stan chewed on his pizza as the argument between the three girls escalated into controlled shrieking. It probably was for Bebe, who was a longtime recipient of anonymous tokens from secret admirers. Still, people were starting to stare.

"Butters probably left it for Kahl." Cartman snorted and helped himself to Wendy's second slice of pizza while she had her attention on Bebe.

"Shut up fatass!"

Stan cleared his throat and said loudly. "Uh.. Bebe? Wendy. You guys?" He shrunk back a little as he was confronted by Wendy's dark brown eyes, Bebe's bright blue and Red's soft gray. "Look. Who knows who it's for? It doesn't matter. You're all er… cute."

"Doesn't matter?!" Wendy snapped at Stan.

"Um.." Stan's cheeks went pink. "I'm gonna get more pizza…" He snatched up his tray and fairly bolted from the table.

Cartman and Kyle looked nervously at the angry girls, then at Stan's retreating figure and piped up "Me too!" and fairly scurried after him.

Stan busied himself picking out another slice of pizza when his nose was suddenly filled with the aroma of cigarettes and something sweeter, something indescribable. "Hey Kenny." He said without looking up and snagged a couple of extra slices and a soda on his way to the cashier. Kenny wouldn't have lunch money and it was easier sometimes to buy extra and pretend you couldn't eat it, rather than offer to pay for his lunch.

"Stanley." Kenny McCormick said gravely and flipped Stan a grin that was visible even in the recesses of his tattered brown hoodie. Kenny, despite his lack of adequate nutrition, had somehow at 15 years old pushed past the six foot mark. He hadn't gained nearly enough weight to compensate for this, and the overall effect was scarecrowish. Kenny was lanky and unkempt, jeans baggy, ratty orange scarf dragging. He was also, Stan thought, selfless, sweet and hopelessly perverted.

Kenny loped towards the table with Stan trailing behind him, trying desperately to warn him about the drama brewing between the girls and closed his eyes briefly as Kenny plunked himself right down next to Red. Stan glanced warily at Wendy and then sat next to Kenny, relieved that the girls had turned their attention to greeting the newcomer. He telegraphed the situation to Kyle with his eyes and was amused note that slender redhead also resumed his seat quite stealthily. Even Cartman was quiet, his mouth full of gooey cheese.

The girls fussed over Kenny, asking about his classes and smiling at his soft-spoken replies. Kenny was still the quiet one, although his voice had cracked sometime in the eighth grade and deepened to a rich baritone. Kenny, having little inclination to pursue college prep courses, had found a place in the school chorus and developed a deep and abiding interest in opera – something that had been going on for years unbeknownst to his best friends. Something that Cartman declared 'neon-pink gay'.

Stan took another bite of pizza. "Ugh. Full." He shoved the tray away from him and towards Kenny. He watched as Kenny pushed his hood back, and bent his blonde head over the tray and inhaled a large slice. Kenny's hair was crazed when short, but he kept it a bit longer now, and it flopped over his forehead and dipped in the sauce. Stan nearly dabbed at it with a napkin, but stuffed down that motherly urge. He felt a smile creep over his face until Kenny straightened up, pointed at the pink rose and said "What's that?"

Stan, Kyle and Cartman closed their eyes simultaneously as the girls instantly resumed sniping at each other. Kenny seemed indifferent to the drama and Stan cracked open an eye and then froze as Red turned to Kenny and said "Who do you think is 'the fairest' Kenny?"

Stan watched, feeling desperately sorry for Kenny who merely took a long drink of soda and considered each girl in turn.

"Depends." Kenny said vaguely.

Wendy leaned across the table and looked at him intently. "Depends? Like… maybe the fairest would not only be cute, but also be able to help you pass your Biology test next Friday?"

Red snorted. "Please Wendy. It says 'the fairest', not 'the nerdiest'." Red patted Kenny's arm. "I'm sure 'the fairest' of them all would not only be pretty, but would also add "McCormick" to the sophomore class presidential ticket." Red smiled and raised her eyebrows.

Bebe rolled her eyes. "You two are ridiculous. Everyone knows the fairest would not only be gorgeous, but would also fix up a true friend with the most awesome girl at South Park High…" she tipped a wink at Kenny and pulled out her cell phone, consulting her social calendar.

Stan pinched the bridge of his nose. Jesus… Christ. He glanced over at Kyle who had his mouth partially open and Cartman who was looking almost gleeful at Kenny's unenviable predicament.

Kenny, who looked strangely undisturbed, simply handed the pink rose to Bebe. He also seemed oblivious, Stan noted, to Wendy's flushed face and Red's insulted look.

Bebe beamed at the skinny boy and smiled smugly at Wendy. She glanced down at her calendar again "So when would you like to go out Kenny?"

Kenny cleared his throat and smiled politely. "Not you Bebe."

Stan pinched the bridge of his nose harder. Not Bebe?! Bebe's not the most awesome girl at South Park High?! He dropped his hand and glanced over at Kyle and Cartman who were also looking at Kenny in disbelief.

Bebe look faintly offended, but smiled sweetly. "Who then? I know just about everyone in the whole school. Who's the lucky girl?"

"Ella Tweak." Kenny said and stood, fishing a cigarette from his pocket. He grinned broadly, a crooked endearing grin, and then turned on his heel and left just as the bell rang for fourth period.

Cartman finally broke the stunned silence. "Weak."

*

From a distant corner of the cafeteria a lone dark figure watched the friends depart and chuckled softly, satisfied.

___________________________________________________________________

Sorry about the length, scene-setting takes me a while I guess, hehe. First chapter of first fic evar! R&R greatly appreciated.


	2. Tacos: Too Spicy

**If you survived chapter one, congratulations! **

**South Park copyright Trey Parker and Matt Stone.**

*

South Park Elementary - 3rd Grade. 

Kenny's stomach growled. It was unusually bitter that morning, even for February in a white-trash mountain town. A hot Pop Tart would have made a nice filling breakfast, but he'd ended up splitting a slightly stale bread sandwich with his brother Kevin before shuffling off to the bus stop. He drew the laces of his parka hood tighter around his face both against the cold and the raised voices coming from Cartman and Kyle.

"For the last time fatass, it was Pontius Pilate that ordered the execution of Jesus. He was a Roman prefect, not a Jew!" Kyle said, exasperated and tugging on the earflaps of his everpresent green hat.

Cartman made a mouth with his gloved hand and made it talk. "Myah myah, blah blah, dippity-wah, Jew!"

"Shut up you fat fu-" Kyle stopped as the bus pulled up.

The bus doors hissed open revealing the snaggletoothed Mrs. Crabtree. "Git on the BUS!" she screeched. "NOW!"

"What a bitch…" Stan muttered as he climbed the steps.

"WHAT did you SAY?!" the driver stared at him, eyes bulging.

Stan smiled weakly. "I said math's a cinch."

"My favorite subject." Crabtree nodded her approval and turned her eyes forward, barely waiting until Kenny was on the bus to tear away from the curb.

*

Ella Tweak was short. Even for a second grader, she was very short indeed. Her legs dangled as she sat at her desk, waiting for the lunch bell to ring. When the time came, she was one of the first out of her seat, grabbing her powder-blue coat as she ran for the door. She had to be first, not because she was hungry but because South Park Elementary saw fit to give the tiny girl a locker in the top row and she hated having the sixth graders laugh at her as she struggled to retrieve her belongings. She ran down the hall just as other doors were opening and skidded to a stop in front of her locker. She hitched up her jeans and stood on her tiptoes fingertips just brushing the lock. After a minute or so of straining, her cheeks were bright pink from the effort and she could hear the quavering voices of the sixth grade boys just down the hall.

Craig Tucker came out of the boy's bathroom frowning. He was pretty sure today was taco day. He hated tacos. Too spicy. He turned down the hall heading for the cafeteria when he saw a tiny girl, blond curls done up in ponytails jumping and trying to twist the combination on her locker. Heh. He felt his middle finger twitch and then realized that it was Tweek's kid sister. He glanced up and down the hallway and heard voices but didn't see anyone. He darted over and boosted the girl up, frowning deeper as she gasped in surprise.

"Shut up you little baby." He said with a nasally growl.

Ella was too grateful to be upset over being called 'baby'. She quickly worked the lock and popped the door open, retrieving a thermos. She snapped the locker door shut and Craig let her down as gently as his irritation would allow.

"Thankth Craig!" she said, her lisp coming from her missing two front teeth, which she displayed by offering him a quick grin before running off in the direction of the cafeteria and shouting "Thweek! I havth your coffee!"

Craig glared after her and suddenly felt the need to be wretched to someone to balance out the spontaneous display of kindness.

*

"Jesus dude. Did you see the way Craig Tucker went after Pip like that?" Stan asked Kyle as they stepped off the bus after school.

"I know dude - that was crazy! He came out of nowhere. Then again, he does hate tacos." Kyle mused, a stray red curl escaping his cap. He heard Kenny mumbling behind him. "Cartman had to go to the dentist this afternoon Kenny, but he said we could meet him at his house after school. I bet he has some new toy to show off." Kyle balled his fists.

"Let's go by mine first." Stan added. "I bet my mom made cookies today."

Mrs. Marsh had, in fact, made cookies and set the jar down on the kitchen table and poured each of the boys a glass of milk. After a surreptitious glance at her boobs, Kenny tucked in to nearly a dozen cookies and two glasses of milk whereupon Mrs. Marsh shooed them back out the door, declaring that it was only 25 degrees and they ought to be out playing on such a fine day and Kenny quite agreed.

The trio made their way down to Cartman's house and, hearing voices in the back yard, came around back without knocking. Stan opened his mouth to say something and then put his hand up, gesturing for the others to be quiet.

Cartman was seated at a table opposite a little blonde girl in a powder blue coat. The pair were pouring tea and chatting amiably, surrounded by Cartman's stuffed animals including Clyde Frog and Polly Prissypants.

"Don't you think that Polly Prissypants looks fetching Miss Ella?" Cartman nodded toward the doll and took a dainty nibble from a Snacky Cake on his plate.

"Yeth Mithter Cartman. She hath thuch a nithe pink dreth." Ella took a sip of her tea and nodded primly.

"Did you see that ho Britney Spears on TV last night? Her ass is enormous."

"Garganthuan." Ella agreed and then caught sight of Stan and waved cheerily.

Cartman caught her wave and jumped up from the table, turning around to see who was there. Shit! He turned back to the little girl. "EY! I told you I didn't want to have a tea party, you little brat! Get your ass out of my yard!"

Ella stopped swinging her legs and hopped out of the chair. She flicked a tiny, defiant middle finger in an uncanny imitation of Craig Tucker. "Fuck you, fatath!" She pushed past the older boys and took off down the street.

Kenny watched the girl walk off, grinning crookedly behind his hood and then turned his attention to Kyle and Stan who were laying in to Cartman about Polly Prissypants.

*

Yay. R&R always welcome.


	3. Paleface

**South Park property of T. Parker and M. Stone. Ella Tweak and Nico are mine. **

*

South Park High – Sophomore Year

_Friday 7:50 a.m._

Bebe Stevens yawned behind her hand. She opened her locker and cringed at her reflection in the mirror. Wendy Testaburger had kept texting her late last night with pics of various hairstyles. The homecoming game was tonight and tomorrow the homecoming dance. For someone who insisted that a woman was more than her appearance, Wendy seemed to spend an awful lot of time worrying about her hair. Bebe shoved some books in her bag, sharing a smile with Stan Marsh as he passed. Stan and Cartman, as sophomores, would only be playing second string tonight but Bebe had a feeling they were just as nervous as the starters. Conifer High had a decent football team and a win for South Park would put everyone in just the right mood for dancing Saturday night away.

Bebe closed her locker door and found Craig Tucker on the other side of it. He looked at her, his face expressionless – but what a face it was. Although there might have been a fading zit on his forehead, the rest of Craig's face was smooth, sculpted and pearlescent. Deep blue eyes framed by thick black lashes were crowned with delicate dark brows. His lips were a bit on the thin side, but looked warm and soft to Bebe's eyes, anyway. She stared at him blankly and then laughed slightly.

"Right. I texted you Craig… sorry." Bebe said, trying a smile.

"You did." He said, waiting.

"Right.. um.." Bebe had looked at the pink rose on her vanity last night. Though she'd had it for about three weeks, it had yet to fade and still smelled just as lovely. She hadn't forgotten her promise to Kenny, but had found Ella Tweak to be elusive. Nobody she talked to regularly knew what her schedule was like, or had her number. Tweek had been sick for a couple of weeks now and hadn't responded to her emails either. She'd gone so far as to walk by the Tweak house last night, only to find that no one answered the door to her knock.

Craig stared at her.

"Sorry. Do you know Ella's schedule at all? I um- need to ask her something." Bebe smiled hopefully. Craig had often hung around with Tweak until this last year and she seemed to remember that he'd let Ella petsit for him once or twice.

Craig was silent for a minute, his eyes flickered strangely and then went blank again. "She has metal shop third period."

"Oh thanks a lot Craig. I-" she started and then stopped as he simply walked away from her without further acknowledgement.

"Asshole." She muttered and hurried off to class.

*

_Friday 10:05 a.m._

Mrs. Chintz, the home ec teacher, hadn't even paused in her lecture on pie crust when Bebe put her hand up for the bathroom pass. Bebe held a hand over her stomach, feigning cramps, snatched the pass and fled to the hallway.

She made her way through the quad and to a group of menacing looking buildings that housed South Park High's shop classes, and apparently its most awesome girl.

The shop itself was dirty and noisy, and all of the students intent on various projects. Bebe scanned the group, all of whom appeared to be male. She sighed, feeling a bit annoyed with Craig.

"'Scuse me."

Bebe turned around and was confronted by the sight of a pale girl in a bulky, charcoal-grey hoodie, indigo skinny jeans and tattered converse hi-tops. Her pale blonde hair hung in limp waves around her face. Bebe looked at the girl, confused. She did look a bit like Ella, but the Ella she remembered was a cheery blonde girl, with soft natural ringlets and wide pale green eyes. Ella had never been what Bebe would have called pretty, but she had been petite with a serene smile and a cute face. This girl looked plain, defeated and empty.

Ella Tweak pushed a lank strand of hair out of her eyes and blinked at the curvy blonde girl who she recognized almost immediately as Bebe Stevens.

"Hey Bebe." She said dully.

"Hey!" Bebe said in an overly cheerful voice, still bewildered by the sight of her. She'd seen the type Kenny usually went for, and this girl wasn't it, unless she was hiding her most spectacular assets under her ridiculously oversized coat. "So! Haven't seen you since junior high! Two years ago. Wow, and now you're a freshman." Ugh. Lame.

"Yeah."

"So.. excited about Homecoming?" Bebe asked, determined to be friendly. Ella didn't look excited about breathing, to be perfectly honest. She'd definitely need Bebe's touch with a makeup brush if she were going to go out with anyone.

"You're blocking the door." Ella said, shuffling past her as she stepped aside.

"Guess not. Just wondering if you had a date for the dance, or were you going… or…" Bebe's voice trailed off as Ella turned again to face her with empty green eyes. "No? I happen to know someone-" Bebe stopped as a slender dark haired boy joined them and slipped an arm around Ella's shoulder. He looked at Bebe curiously with glittering amber eyes, and then broke into a killer smile.

"I'm Nico." He took Bebe's hand and shook it. "Ella's boyfriend. She has a date."

Bebe stared, openmouthed. Nico made Craig Tucker look positively plain. When he clasped her hand and shook it, she felt the heat of his skin race up to her arm and right to her heart. How Ella had managed to pull this guy was beyond her, and who was he anyway?

"I don't know you." Bebe said and cringed inwardly at her uncharacteristic dorkiness.

Nico offered her another smile and tightened his arm around Ella, who seemed to be lost in her own thoughts.

"I used to live in North Park, moved here over the summer. New school. You know how it is." He said.

Bebe opened her mouth to ask another question, but then the shop teacher turned around and noticed her lingering in the doorway. She gave the strange couple a quick little wave and hurried back toward the main building, unsettled in her mind.

**Bebe's on the case. ^_^ **


	4. Future Home of Double Ds

**South Park belongs to T. Parker and M. Stone. Ella Tweak and Nico belong to me.**

*

An icy wind whipped through the Marsh's back yard, sending spirals of crisp leaves swirling around Stan's feet and lifting his shaggy black hair. He tossed the football across to Cartman who caught it easily and tossed it back. Kyle was seated atop a weathered picnic table busily texting, his dark red ponytail caught like a banner in the wind. Kenny was seated next to Kyle, a lit cigarette tucked in the corner of his mouth. His light blue eyes were distant and his usual gentle expression bordered on morose. Cartman had spent the better part of the afternoon trying to make Kenny laugh with graphic descriptions of his homecoming date, but failed to provoke more than a weak smile from the pensive boy.

Stan caught the football and sent it back to Cartman who tucked it under his arm. Cartman stopped and watched Kenny for a moment, and then walked over to Stan.

"Why is Kenny being such a boring douche?" Cartman asked, in an unusually quiet voice. "I mean, I know he went to homecoming with Heidi and that Heidi's a bitch…"

Stan sighed. He had ended up going with Bebe Stevens. South Park had won its homecoming game. The starting quarterback sprained his knee in the second quarter, which left Stan to step in. He'd played badly for the rest of the first half, but had come out of the locker room fighting after halftime and helped carry his team to victory. After the game, Bebe had asked him to the dance. He'd been shocked she hadn't had a date already. She had only smiled and said that she liked to keep her 'options open.' He'd picked her up in his parent's car and she'd been gorgeous. Looked gorgeous. Smelled gorgeous. She'd even kissed him gorgeously when he pulled up outside her house to drop her off afterwards. Stan swore he could feel the weight of the condom he'd placed in his wallet earlier in the evening with a hopeful sigh. He thought things were going well and had just slid his hand down Bebe's neck to her bare shoulder when she brought up Ella Tweak.

At first Stan had been mildly put out by Bebe's sudden need to talk, but he found himself getting drawn in to Bebe's strange description of the girl and her empty eyes. He'd always remembered Tweek's sister as a playful, fun girl with a personality quite unlike her older brother. In fact, if the Tweaks hadn't both been short and slight, with identical little pointy noses, he'd never of guessed they'd been raised by the same parents. Ella seemed to have a soothing effect on her older brother who, Bebe pointed out, had been sick for three weeks now. Stan agreed at the time that it was all very mysterious, and was somewhat anxious to get back to the kissing. Bebe, however, had her phone out and gave him a brief kiss goodnight and insisted she needed to make some calls. Stan thought about both Bebe and her strange tale for about a week, and now was just as convinced that something was afoot at the Tweak house.

"Stan. Seriously. Now you're being a douche." Cartman said impatiently, but was still looking at Kenny who was chain smoking.

"Sorry. Uh. I don't know dude. I think he wanted to go to homecoming with Ella Tweak, but Bebe says that she's going out with this strange kid named Nico that used to live in North Park." Stan said.

"I haven't seen Miss Ella all year. I have Spanish with that kid though. He's a fag." Cartman concluded. "The girls are always like-" Cartman put on his best falsetto and swished his hips. "Oh hi Nico!" He giggled and batted his eyelashes. "Do you need help Nico? Look at my boobs Nico!" He resumed his usual, somewhat nasally, tenor. "Total. Fag."

"I dunno. Bebe said he was 'delicious'." Stan shrugged. "Anyway, you know Heidi is always Kenny's fallback girl. I think he's disappointed."

"Yeah. Heidi's a mouthy ho. She puts out though." Cartman said. "Kenny did say something about Miss Ella a few months ago."

"Yeah?" Stan said, hearing his phone chirp in his pocket. He pulled it out and checked his texts. "Kyle, you'd better not be texting me from across the yard!" he said, with mock anger.

"Not me, dude!" Kyle said, still texting.

"Yeah Kahl, you jewfag! Stan and I are having a mature conversation over here!" Cartman snapped at Kyle, missing Kyle flipping him off as he turned back to Stan. "Anyway, Kenny had been smoking under the bleachers during freshman orientation last August. He said he'd seen the Tweaks there, and that Ella was cute and-" Cartman stopped, held up both hands at about the level of Stan's chest and made the gesture that Kenny often used to express wordless admiration for a girl's physique. "Future home of double Ds, he said." Cartman shrugged.

Stan frowned. That didn't really match what Bebe told him at all. He showed his text to Cartman.

_Bebe S: Ella Willies, sans boyfriend. _

"Kahl! Kenneh! Pizza!" Cartman pulled out his car keys. "I'm drivin'. I don't want to be seen in Stan's dad's douchy car."

*

Whistlin' Willie's was jam-packed, even for a Saturday evening. South Park had won another football game the day before, and spirts were still high.

Bebe Stevens sipped her Coke and listened to Red and Wendy chatting about student council business. She'd noticed they included her in their chatter less, ever since the pink rose incident. Ordinarily she would have worried about this, but she had her eyes fixed on Ella Tweak who was playing Guitar Hero with Craig Tucker in the arcade. Both Craig and Ella played in silence and Bebe wondered if there was something else going on. Ella seemed to have a bit more life today. Her golden hair was drawn back into two tails of shiny, soft curls and her cheeks were pink. She still wore that oversized gray hoodie, despite the excessively warm temperature inside the restaurant. She watched as Ella and Craig parted. Craig headed back to the table with his gang, where the pizzas had just arrived. Ella went over to the DDR machine which, for once, wasn't being dominated by the creepy Asian kid.

Bebe stood, catching a look from Red who said "What did you want on the pizza Bebe?"

"Whatever's fine. No mushrooms." Bebe replied and straightened her tight red sweater. She fished some quarters out of her pocket and walked over to Ella.

"Hey!" Bebe said, smiling. "Wanna play me?"

Ella looked over at Bebe and hesitated. "Yeah. Okay."

"Maybe you should take off that jacket. You're going to die once you start dancing." Bebe suggested helpfully, feeding quarters into the machine.

Ella paused and then nodded, unzipping the hoodie. She slung it over a nearby chair.

Bebe blinked as Ella turned her attention to the game, and scrolled through the songs. Bebe stood about 5'5" without heels and Ella was probably three inches shorter. Her clingy black top and dark skinny jeans revealed a petite frame with curves. While she didn't have Red's languid beauty or Wendy's dark attractiveness, Ella was cute. She looked nothing like she had a week ago when Bebe bumped into her outside the shop. She looked serene, and her skin had a warm glow to it. Only her eyes seemed distant as she selected a song.

"So. Is there something between you and Craig Tucker, if you don't mind my asking?" Bebe said and turned her attention to the game.

"Nope." Ella said, following the steps smoothly. She seemed as though she wouldn't offer more and then finally said. "He's like a brother."

"Ahhh.." Bebe said, and the girls continued playing in comfortable silence.

*

The boys piled out of Cartman's new car and headed into Willie's. The stifling heat of the restaurant felt good after the biting wind outside. Stan Marsh pulled off his hat and coat and scanned the room for Bebe. He caught sight of her playing DDR and looking perfect with another blonde girl. A blonde girl with a hot ass. He watched the two of them play for a few seconds and realized that the hot ass belonged to Ella Tweak and looked away. Cartman had spied Millie (his raunchy homecoming date) and dragged Stan by the sleeve towards the girls table with Kyle and Kenny following behind.

Stan ignored the strange look that Wendy gave him as he sat down, and missed the even stranger look that Kyle gave Wendy. He kept glancing back over at Bebe and nodded as Cartman rattled off their order to a very tired looking waitress.

"Right Stan?" Kyle said.

"Yeah." He said, having no idea what he agreed to. When he looked back, Bebe was beckoning to him and motioning to Kenny, who was lost in the depths of his hood. Stan stood and tugged on Kenny's sleeve. "Let's go play something while we wait." Kenny stood reluctantly and mumbled something behind his scarf that could have been 'Okay' or 'Fuck you'. Stan threaded his way through the crowd, 'accidentally' bumping into Bebe.

Bebe smiled and fanned her face. She hoped she wasn't sweating or something. "Hi Stan! Ella's beating me." She nodded toward petite blonde while feeding more quarters in the machine.

Stan nodded. "Kenny's actually really good at this. I bet you five dollars he beat her."

"Prepare to lose five dollars, because Ella just got a AA score." Bebe perched on the end of the table and looked over at Stan who shoved Kenny forward.

Kenny looked at his feet as Stan and Bebe chatted but looked up at the mention of Ella and then noticed her standing just behind Bebe. His stomach flipped as she smoothed her hair. He only half heard Bebe and Stan's bet and then felt himself being shoved forward. Oh god. He unzipped his hoodie and unwound his ridiculously long orange scarf and handed them off to Stan. He suddenly wished he hadn't put on his oldest blue t-shirt, or the brown cargo pants with the hole in one knee and ripped hems. Don't be lame, he told himself. Girls are no problem. You smile, flirt and they fall in your lap. He smiled nervously at Ella and then stubbed his toe, hard. Goddammit. He looked over and just caught her lips twitching as she turned towards the game and picked a song.

Kenny was really good, but he found himself distracted by the girl beside him. She looked as though she were gliding, curls bouncing in time to the music. She hadn't missed a step. He grinned lopsidedly and 'accidentally' nudged her with his elbow.

Ella felt a nudge and wobbled a bit but still didn't miss a step. "Cheater." She said, sounding amused. "Now I really will kick your ass."

Kenny smirked and did his best to keep up and nudged her again as the song ended while they waited for their scores. Kenny raised his arms in victory as he got an "AA" and then swore as Ella's "AAA" popped up on the screen. He shrugged at Stan who seemed pretty cheerful about handing over five dollars to Bebe.

"A rematch." Kenny said. "I demand one."

Ella fed the machine and they played in silence for a while until Kenny finally broke it by asking what she was up to. Was she still doing the art thing? Yes she was. Skating? Yes. They chatted amiably while dancing and five dollars later, Kenny still hadn't beat her. He stepped off the pad and looked down at her, flipping his long, straw-colored bangs out of his eyes. Ella looked up at him, her eyes flicking from his unkempt hair, his delicate cheekbones, his long thin nose and then up to his light blue eyes.

Kenny felt a blush rising in his cheeks. She has a boyfriend, you retard. Still – you could ask her to a movie. That's safe right? It'll be extra safe if you invite Stan and Bebe along too. He finally settled his eyes on hers, which were a delicate spring green. He opened his mouth to speak and then stopped as a dark haired boy dropped an arm around her shoulder. Kenny watched the color drain from her face.

Nico gave Kenny a dangerous smile and then turned to Ella, who got no smile at all, just a cold amber-eyed stare. "There you are. Craig's sister said you'd be here. You should have called." He picked up her big gray hoodie and helped her into it. "We should go work on your biology homework." He said, in a tone that allowed no room for questions. He flashed Bebe a smile that bordered on seductive and tipped her a wink as he steered Ella towards the door.

Stan frowned deeply. "That guy's a dick." He glanced over at Bebe who was chewing on her lower lip.

"Something is definitely wrong there." She concluded. Nico might have stolen the 'hottest guy' title from Craig Tucker, but looked to be after Craig's 'biggest asshole' title as well.

Stan glanced over at Kenny who held his thin body stiffly, his eyes watching the couple as they left.

"I hate him." Kenny said simply.


	5. What I Did on My Summer Vacation

**South Park property of Parker and Stone. Ella Tweak is mine.**

**Mmm.. Flashback.**

*

Tweak Residence. Sophomore year – August.

Ella arranged her school bag for the 20th time. Tomorrow was her first day of high school and she was nearly as twitchy as her brother. I'm not touching that bag again. It's packed. That's it. She stood in front of the full length mirror and braided her hair. The clock on her dresser read 11:58. She'd already been up too late worrying about it. She flopped on her bed and clicked the bedside lamp off. Nothing could be worse than junior high, right?

"GAH!"

Dammit. Ella sat up and flipped her light on.

"Ack! GAH!"

She trudged to the door and cracked it open. It was midnight, a bit early for underpants gnomes. She looked at her brother's bedroom door right across the hall. She could hear the muffled sounds of her parents fighting in their bedroom a few doors down.

"-with that goddamn whore Liane Cartman!" she heard her mother say.

She strained to listen for Tweek, who sometimes talked in his sleep. Nothing… nothing…

"ACK!" Tweek came bursting out of his room, hair crazed, pajama top on backwards. "Ella. God-oh no! Look!" he pointed to his room twitchily, eyes wild, slight body trembling.

Ella took his hand and squeezed it tightly. The pressure of her grasp usually soothed Tweek, but he was trembling awfully hard. She looked around his room and not seeing any gnomes, turned back to him, confused.

"GAH! W-w-window!"

Ella crossed his room to the window and saw, in the distance, a faint orange glow. What?! "Looks like it's near Stark's Pond." She shrugged. "Could be a fire Tweek."

"Fire! ACK! Fire! Fire! Fire!" Tweek ran in a jerky circle around his room, stumbling over discarded Harbucks cups.

Ella caught his arm and clapped her hand over his mouth. "Shh. I'm going out to see what it is."

"Mphmmmhh!" said Tweek, reminding Ella momentarily of Kenny McCormick, one of Eric Cartman's friends in elementary school.

"Yes I am." She took her hand away slowly, ready to replace it in the event of further outbursts.

"D-d-don't! Y-you cant!" Tweek insisted, eyes bulging as she walked out of his room and returned a minute later with a powder blue robe thrown over her pajamas and ratty Vans on her feet.

"It'll only take a few minutes. I can't sleep anyway." Ella said opening his window and climbing out to the trellis outside.

"I-I'll come with GAH! With you." Tweek insisted, putting his own shoes on and climbing out after her.

*

The pair jogged down the street and through town in the direction of Stark's Pond. Ella set the pace. If she kept Tweek moving, it gave him less time to worry. The strange pulsing glow became more intense as they raced along the path before the pond. As she reached the water, Ella stopped. A soft breeze tickled her bare ankles and sketched ripples on the surface of the pond. Tweek caught up with her, too out of breath to protest much. Just as he reached her side, the glow flickered and faded.

"W-what.." Tweek whispered.

Ella skirted the pond, walking slowly. "Dunno.." she said, reaching back for Tweek's hand and felt it, slender, warm and trembling in her own. "It definitely came from over the next rise."

Tweek said nothing, but shook harder as his sister led him up the hill behind Stark's Pond.

Ella climbed, slipping a bit on the dew-wet grass. As they reached the top, her nose was assaulted by a sharp, acrid smell. Tweek clapped his free hand over his nose, his eyes watering.

"E-Ella.." he whispered hoarsely.

At the top of the hill, Tweek's tight grasp on her hand became a death-grip. For once, Ella was squeezing his hand just as tightly in return.

*

The full moon hung like a pearl earring in the velvet ear of night. As South Park slumbered, two high-pitched screams echoed over Stark's Pond and rent the stillness with their terror.

*

**Now if only Craig was there to tell Ella not to investigate the spooky glow… ^.^**


	6. Kill The Lights

**South Park property of T. Parker and M. Stone. Ella Tweak, Nico and Lilith belong to me.**

**Gentle warning: Drug use, underage drinking, sexual references and the usual dose of swearing in this chapter. **

*

The woman on television panted furiously, her face contorted in what Kenny was certain the director meant to be frenzied ecstasy. In reality, it looked more like she was being eaten from the toes up by crazed piranhas. Kenny reclined and lit the joint tucked into the corner of his mouth. Kevin had shit taste in porn. Kenny had wondered for years if his brother, now 18 and living in his own apartment, had been gay. If he was, he had the closet door bolted. Kenny looked away from the television and surveyed the messy living room, wincing slightly as his sore lower lip took a pull of the joint.

Three days ago, his father went on a whiskey-fueled rampage unprecedented in its ferocity. Unfortunately it involved, as it so often did, in pounding Kenny with his fists until the boy was punch-drunk, bruised and bleeding. The ritual pummeling only ceased when Carol McCormick fled to the bedroom and locked the door, sobbing. When Kenny had been able to stagger to his sister Karen's room, he gave her what little money he had and told her to go get something to eat, insisting she spend the weekend a friend's house. Kenny walked three miles to his brother's apartment that night with a full compliment of bruises, a painfully swollen black eye and a split lip.

Kevin urged Kenny to come live with him, as he so often did when Kenny showed up on his doorstep, battered and shivering. Kenny always stayed a few days and then headed back home. He worried more than anything that his absence would provoke Stuart McCormick to take a fist to Karen. Still, it would have been nice not to go home again. Ever. Kevin had a decent job as a mechanic and he already paid for Kenny's phone. He had Tivo, Xbox, a laptop, central heating and, best of all, a lot of food. Despite the promise of security, Kenny couldn't leave Karen behind.

Kenny flicked off the porn, completely unaroused by it. He put on the news and watched the weather. It was late November and absolutely bitter. He stared at the weather lady's chest as she rattled on about the extremely low temperatures in store for the upcoming week, taking a very deep toke of his joint. His phone chirped in his pocket. Fishing it out, he found he'd received ten texts in the last thirty minutes. He exhaled a stream of smoke into the hazy room and settled back to read.

**Heidi:** where r u?! if u don't call back in 10 min we r done!!!

God. He'd forgot about Heidi. They were supposed to be going out again. Oops.

**Bebe:** hi ken doll! library if u want help with English.

Kenny gritted his teeth at "ken doll". Bebe started calling him that in 7th grade and it caught on briefly with Cartman, until Kenny's right hook persuaded him to stop. He scrolled through the next couple of texts which were from his sister, saying that she was spending a week with her best friend and one from Stan inviting him over to watch the Broncos game.

**Heidi:** it's over. ur pathetic.

Slut.

**5551372:** 133 alpine court. midnight.

Kenny finished his J and considered the text. He didn't recognize the number. Still, he was intrigued. It was about three hours to midnight and he'd had no intention of going to school tomorrow. It was Thanksgiving week and he never went to school on the Monday and Tuesday prior to the holidays. Why bother?

Kenny stood and wandered into the kitchen, pulling open the fridge. He fished out a beer and pulled the tab. The cool, pale light played over his bare chest, all sharp angles, flat planes and pale skin adorned with blooms of purple bruises. Kenny tipped his head back and drank, knowing that if he drank enough his body would stop hurting. The world would stop hurting.

*

Ella's room was dark, as all the rooms in the Tweak house were now required to be. She sat on her bed clad in blue pajamas, hair braided for sleep and peered out the window at the street below. There was no moon out, and the lone streetlight on the court offered a dim shield against the onslaught of night. She heard the click and twist of her doorknob and smelled the heat before she felt it. Nico.

"Get away from the window." He said coldly.

Ella turned away and faced him. His amber eyes glittered in the dark. He grew stronger, more forceful, by the day. Stronger as her brother faded. Stronger as her parents went through their daily routines, jerked along by invisible strings, their eyes clouded. She wasn't entirely sure how much longer her brother would last. He wasn't missed at school. Her parents, at Nico's command, had withdrawn him for home schooling. She wondered how long it would be before he did the same to her.

Nico picked up her phone and scrolled through her texts, deleting most of them and answering a couple. "Bebe Stevens is having a skating and slumber party next Friday. You will go to that." He said, replacing her phone on her nightstand. He took her face in his hands, roughly. "Behave. I'll know if you don't. Smile and tell them whatever they need to hear so nobody asks any questions."

Ella nodded, the heat of his hands was intense. He could burn her, if he wanted to. He'd done it to Tweek.

"Now I want-" a brief pulse of green light behind him caught his attention and he turned his back to her.

Ella peered around Nico and saw a dark haired girl who looked about her age and build with big deep green eyes. She tugged at her leather bodice and straightened her long black skirt.

"What are you doing?" the girl asked, looking curiously at Ella and giving her a tentative wave and a black-lipsticked smile.

Nico balled his fists. "Lilith. Go. Home. Now." He annunciated each word through gritted teeth.

Lilith ignored Nico's bunched up face and glanced around the room, eyes lighting on Ella's drafting table. She squinted at the drawing that was neatly clipped to the table and then nodded. "Nice." Lilith turned her attention back to Nico. "No, seriously. What are you doing? D has been looking for you, and I miss my bestest big brother." She said, examining Ella's laptop curiously.

"Nothing." Nico was curt. She was always following him around, embarrassing him. "Now go home." His face shifted from irritated to alarmed as Lilith crossed the hall, went into Tweeks room and then returned, shaking her head in disapproval.

"I am soooo telling. Damien is gonna be pissed, and dad will kill you when he gets home." Lilith waved at Ella again and was gone with a snap of her fingers, and a green flash of light.

*

On the street outside, two lean figures kept vigil. As a green light pulsed in the upstairs window, the darker of the two turned to his companion.

"Iz strange, no?" he asked the taller boy beside him, and lit another cigarette from the one he was already smoking. "I 'ave 'ad zis place under surveillance for weeks now. Ze boy, Tweek, he never leaves." He exhaled a cloud of smoke. He'd berated Kenny for showing up drunk, but the cold seemed to have sobered him up. Christophe scanned the street nervously and then looked back at Kenny.

"Strange." Kenny nodded, his blue eyes fixed on the upstairs window. He frowned a bit at the second pulse of light and lit his own cigarette. It seemed familiar somehow.

Christophe took a jerky drag of his cigarette. "Now get out of 'ere beetch, before you blow everyzing. I will keep watch and text you later." He gave Kenny's shoulder a shove and watched as the tall, slender boy made his way down the street, his tattered orange scarf whipping in the wind behind him.

**R&R greatly appreciated! ^.^**


	7. I Hate This Town

**South Park property of T. Parker and M. Stone. Ella Tweak belongs to meh! **

**Will get back to the main story and new OC goodness in the next chapter, but I just ate a boatload of Fun Dip and I'm hyper. Hehehe. Also, writing kids is kinda fun. ^.^**

*

The Park – 4th grade.

Craig Tucker folded his arms impatiently. A kindergartener was on his favorite swing. The only swing in the entire park, and possibly the entire world, that didn't squeak. Ordinarily he would have had no problem throwing his weight around, but the girl's mother was right there, pushing her daughter as she giggled. He could feel the woman looking at him. There was, after all, a perfectly good empty swing beside them. A swing that squeaked. When the woman frowned at him, he wordlessly flipped her the bird and trudged towards the sandbox. A large group of kids had gathered around with a few concerned parents looking on. Craig pushed his way to the front of the pack and then stopped dead in his tracks.

Gerald Broflovski, resplendent in a pair of sandy tighty-whities, took a weak swipe at Kenny McCormick.

"She's mine you little asshole!"

Craig didn't hear Kenny's reply, but watched as he tried to fend off the grown-up. The front of his orange parka was stained with what looked like pee. Craig was jolted out of staring by a nudge at his elbow. He looked over and saw Ella Tweak beside him, her mouth open in horror. Craig frowned and clapped a hand over her eyes.

"Don't look." He said, turning her around. "I'm taking you home." He pushed his way out of the crowd, his hand still firmly over Ella's eyes only to bump into Towelie.

"Oh hey kid… wanna get high?" Towlie asked with a hopeful look.

"No. No I don't." Craig skirted Towelie as though he might be contagious and when they exited the park, removed his mittened hand and restored Ella's sight. "I hate this town." He said and tugged on the sleeve of her powder blue coat until she followed him.

Ella walked quietly next to Craig for a minute. Word had obviously spread about the sandbox smackdown, and the pair dodged people rushing in the direction of the park hoping for their daily dose of South Park's unique insanity.

"Craig." Ella said. "What were they doing?" She stopped to play hopscotch on the sidewalk, earning another impatient tug on her sleeve.

"I don't know." Craig said. "Hurry up, crybaby."

Ella walked along in silence until they reached Alpine Court and stopped outside her blue house. "You could come in for cookies." She offered politely. "Oatmeal."

"Oatmeal cookies are too bumpy." He replied, zipping up his coat and walking her up to the door. He waited in silence as she rattled the doorknob and then knocked.

"Tweek! It's Ella!" she rang the bell.

Craig's eyes widened as Tweek opened the door, accompanied by Butters. Both of the small blonde boys had assorted bows in their hair.

"GAH! Omigod-" Tweek pulled frantically at the bows, embarrassed to find Craig Tucker on the porch as well as his sister. He let Ella pass. "ACK!"

Craig looked on impassively as Ella waved a farewell and Butters tried to reassure Tweek. He looked at the door for a moment after it closed and then turned to walk home.

Before he reached the end of the court, the wind kicked up and soon Craig was pelted by swirls of wet, stinging snow.

"Goddammit."

**The events take place during "Major Boobage". I just sorta wanted to slip a comment about Butters and Tweek's relationship in there. Of course… any excuse to have fun with Craig is fine too. ^.^**


	8. The Sound of Five Dozen Idiots

**South Park property of T. Parker and M. Stone. Ella Tweak is mine. Joining my version of the South Parkiverse in this chapter:**

**Vivi Sykes: created by PiScEs-BlOsSoM69**

**Lucy Montgomery: created by Kootie Bomb**

**Other OCs will be featured in upcoming chapters. (I haven't forgotten about my Damien friends!) **

**Disclaimer: Those of you that have read the fic up until this point know that I don't necessarily resolve problems or introduce stories in a linear fashion. The same thing might happen to your OCs. I also happen to write my version of South Park as a separate little universe. This means that even if your OC had been dating Stan since 5th grade in your fic, I might change that to suit my version of reality. I will do my very best to honor crushes/enemies/friendships and will endeavor to get your characters right, although you might find they sound a bit different when I'm pulling their strings. ^.^**

**(P.S. I can already tell this is going to be a mega fatty chapter. Sorry! :P)**

*

Stark's Pond – Sophomore Year

Bebe Stevens silently thanked God for the weather. It was slightly overcast, but it was 5 p.m. and the air had warmed to 30 degrees. Bebe had been at Stark's Pond since 2 o'clock, enlisting Red, Wendy, Clyde and Token to help assemble a bonfire and set out folding tables and camp chairs donated by the Testaburgers for the occasion. Her phone rang and she fished it out of her tight jeans pocket.

"Hi Vivi!" Bebe said, ignoring the face Wendy made as she spread out the tablecloth. "Yep. Nope, bonfire isn't lit yet." Bebe giggled. "How far away are you? Five minutes? Okay. We'll wait." Bebe stuffed her phone in her back pocket and started unpacking trays of cookies and arranging them just so on the tables.

"Vivi?" Wendy said pointedly, arranging piles of cups, silverware and napkins. "What, did you like.. invite the entire sophomore class or something?"

"No." Bebe said, nodding as Red stuffed a large ice-filled tub with sodas. "Vivi is in my English class. She seems like fun." Bebe looked over at Wendy. "Does that sparkle with you?" She said in a tone of voice that didn't invite a reply.

Wendy made a face and might have been inclined to tell Bebe exactly how little spending an evening with Vivi Sykes sparkled with her, but Token interrupted and placed a large cooler between the two girls and flipped off the lid. He had generously donated enough sausages and hot dogs to feed a legion of starving teenagers.

Bebe squealed and hugged Token, who looked a bit embarrassed and grateful when Bebe turned her attention to a few newcomers straggling over to the pond, encumbered with skates, bags of chips and other offerings. Among these new arrivals was Vivi Sykes, clutching a large paper sack. Her brilliant red-violet hair was suppressed by a blue woolen beret that just matched the stripes on her shirt. Bebe jogged over to meet her and peeked in the sack, then clapped her hands. "Awesome!"

Vivi grinned and followed Bebe to the bonfire site, and a neatly stacked tipi of wood.

"It's all yours. I'll find you a slave to collect more wood later." Bebe said.

"A cute one, I hope." Vivi replied, then gave Wendy an overly large, overly false-friendly smile. She giggled at Wendy's look of obvious disdain and set to work getting the fire lit, tending it like a newborn baby. Vivi wasn't exactly pleased to be spending quality vacation time with Wendy Testaburger, but Wendy was obviously easily pissed off and that had high entertainment value in and of itself.

*

Eric Cartman was a terrible driver. This was an indisputable fact. He had gotten his license last July, but Stan was sure if the DMV could have withheld it, they would have. Unfortunately Cartman had managed to pass his drivers exam by the skin of his teeth. To celebrate, Liane Cartman had bought her precious poopiekins a bright red Mitsubishi Eclipse.

At present, said Eclipse was skidding around hairpin turns on the way to Stark's Pond. Stan had a white-knuckled grip on what Kenny poetically referred to as the 'Oh Shit! handle' just above the passenger's side window. Kyle and Kenny had been relegated to the cramped backseat, being the thinnest of the four. Unable to see the windshield, they were spared the full impact of Cartman's death-wish driving. Stan was sure that he heard Kyle muttering a prayer in Hebrew under the pulsing thump of Eminem's "Shake That" blasting from the car's kickass stereo.

_Get buzzed, get drunk, get crunked, get fuucked up  
Hit the strip club don't forget ones get your dick rubbed  
Get fucked, get sucked, get wasted, shit faceted  
Pasted, blasted, puke drink up, get a new drink  
Hit the bathroom sink, throw up…_

"Woohoo!" Kenny shouted from behind Stan's head as the little red car went airborne at the bottom of a hill.

Fortunately the bottom of this particular hill signaled the town limits and Cartman slowed down to a sensible speed, although he still seemed loath to use his turn signals. Stan unbunched his hands, feeling blood rush back to his fingertips.

One of Kenny's arms snaked into the front seat. His thin fingers jabbed at the stereo until he reached the classical station. The strains of Mozart's Symphony No. 40 filled the car and a glance in the review mirror revealed that Kenny was headbanging in time to the music, provoking a fit of laughter from Kyle. Stan joined in, knowing full well that Kenny had a few beers before they picked him up. Stan suspected the lanky blonde had been trying to settle his nerves. Bebe's parties were first rate, and at least two dozen cute girls would be on the guest list.

"AY!" Cartman shouted, determined to spoil everything. He switched the music back to his iPod and Eminem.

_I want a bitch that sit at the crib with no panties on  
Knows that she can but she won't say no  
Now look at this lady all in front of me, sexy as can be  
Tonight I want a slut, will you be mine?  
I heard you was freaky from a friend of mine…_

"Gentlemen…" Cartman began, clearing his throat and adopting the mock-patient tone they all knew so well. "We cannot roll up to the party in front of some of the finest bitches in South Park with that butt-humping, homo-douchefag music that Kenny likes blasting out the windows. It just isn't done." Cartman pointed an accusing finger at Kyle in the backseat "Shut up YA JEW!"

Kyle gritted his teeth. "Fuck you, fata-"

Cartman stomped on the brakes, the sudden jerk of the car cutting Kyle off mid-sentence.

"What was that Kahl?" he asked.

"I said fuck you fata-" Kyle started, only to be jarred by Cartman stomping on the brakes again.

"What Kahl?"

"Goddammit Cartman! I'd like to get there sometime before midnight!" Stan snapped.

"I'm so sorry Stanley. Was having trouble hearing Kahl…" Cartman said and turned up the music and drove the rest of the way to Stark's Pond without incident.

Cartman nudged the bumper of Craig Tucker's Rav4 as he parked next to it. Stan was immensely grateful that Craig wasn't there to see that. He had no desire to find out what it felt like to be bludgeoned with a hockey stick.

*

Bebe frowned slightly as she saw Eric, Stan, Kyle and Kenny approaching, each carrying two or three cases of beer and a few bottles of vodka. She sincerely hoped that not too many people would overindulge, as alcohol tended to cause drama and she'd really been hoping for a pleasant evening with her friends that didn't involve gratuitous making out and YouTube moments. Bebe dug her phone out of her pocket and considered her latest list carefully. She had already definitely invited Red, Wendy, Heidi and Ella back to her place for a sleepover afterwards, but thought a few more girls might make for more fun. The question was – who?

Stan plunked his beer down on one of the tables and adjusted his blue cap, smiling apologetically at Bebe. He and Bebe had gone out a couple times since homecoming, and while the kissing had been nice, he was growing a bit impatient with her intense social schedule. As much as Wendy pissed him off, she'd always made time for him, for them. Something was missing.

Bebe gave Stan a disapproving little frown. "Alcohol Stanny? If someone gets hurt, I'm holding you responsible." she paused. "Unless it's Kenny. Wouldn't be a party if Kenny didn't end up with stitches." Her expression suddenly softened. Aha!

Stan opened a beer and caught Bebe's epiphanic expression. Oh shit. That was the look Wendy got when she got a 'really great idea'. Stan took a big step back, looking around for his wingmen but Kyle and Kenny seemed to have melded with the mingling crowd. Jesus Christ.

"Stan.. I need you."

"Right now?" Stan looked around, incredulous. "Here?" Jesus Christ!

Bebe shook her head and gave him a winning smile. "Over here…" she took his hand and led him towards the bonfire, completely missing his look of elated triumph.

Stan allowed himself to be led, his heart racing. I can't wait to tell Kyle. He looked around when they stopped next to a girl crouched near the bonfire poking it with a big stick. Wha-?

"You know Vivi, right? Have you guys had any classes together? No?" Bebe continued on making small talk to fill the silence.

Stan looked on confused as the girl stood and adjusted her hat. He nodded at Bebe. He remembered her from elementary school, seeing her here and there in junior high. He mostly remembered Cartman teasing her about being French, or something. What he didn't remember was her eyes. The blazing fire picked up glints of silver and gilded them, like the sun setting over an exotic sea. He didn't notice Bebe leave.

"So! You're my gofer?" Vivi asked cheerfully and clapped him on the shoulder.

Stan nodded obediently. "You want wood?" he asked and then cringed. Derrrrrrr! He pinched the bridge of his nose. Jesus Christ.

Vivi grinned and pointed to the fire with her makeshift poker. "Yeah. Flames are getting low."

Stan smiled weakly, suddenly overcome by a peculiar and vaguely familiar sensation. "Right. I'll go get some. Right.. now." He walked away briskly and then broke into a jog as he made for the nearest thicket of trees. As soon as he was safely out of sight, his guts heaved and the entire contents of his stomach lay in a steaming pile on the frozen ground.

That's what was missing.

*

The party, as was typical of a Bebe Stevens soiree, was smashing. Hot food, cold drinks, fresh air and exercise helped shake off the collective post-Thanksgiving turkey coma. Despite the sizable supply of alcohol (courtesy of Kevin McCormick's fake ID) the guests managed not to commit any regrettable acts under Bebe's watchful eye.

Craig Tucker skated alongside Ella Tweak, the breeze rippling the flaps of his blue chullo hat like streamers. He kept his hands in the pockets of his fitted and neatly buttoned navy pea coat. Both skaters were quick and agile on the ice and Craig found the simultaneous shushing of their blades very soothing. It nearly blocked out the tremendous racket generated by nearly five dozen complete idiots. More than once he'd had to pull Ella out of the path of a skater determined to go in the opposite direction of the flow.

Ella, for her part, didn't seem to mind and had taken to giving high fives to those who passed her going completely the wrong way. They'd had a friendly debate, she and Craig, about whether there actually was a 'right way' to go. All such arguments with Craig were doomed to a circular, pointless oblivion. According to Craig Tucker, there was ALWAYS a right and wrong way to do things. She nodded as he talked but giggled each time she passed Lucy Montgomery, a girl obviously dedicated to going the wrong way and initiator of the high five game.

Craig paused in the center of the ice and checked the time on his phone.

"I'm thirsty." He declared. "It's late. Are you going to Bebe's?"

Ella nodded, adjusting her white knitted cap.

"Meet me at the car at 11:30." He said. "Thirty minutes."

*

Bebe Stevens nudged Red and the pair watched Craig Tucker part ways with Ella.

"Finally!" Bebe said, looking peevish. "I was beginning to wonder if he was going to hunch over her like a gargoyle for the rest of the night."

"A Craigoyle?" Red offered as the pair skated in tandem, spiraling closer to the center of the pond.

Bebe was too annoyed to be amused. "There's Kenny. You know what to do."

Red nodded and sped towards the center ice, passing so close to Kenny she could smell beer, cigarettes and what might've been aftershave. Her near-miss forced him to skate backwards and directly into Ella Tweak's path. Red completed a circuit around the pond and oh-so-casually ended up at Bebe's side.

"Think it'll work?" Red asked, raising her eyebrows.

"It always works in the movies." Bebe insisted and then closed her eyes in annoyance when it became obvious the targets wouldn't collide and collapse in a sickeningly precious tangle of arms and legs.

"Lame." Cartman said, skating up beside Bebe.

*

Ella dug in her blades and skidded to a halt. She came dangerously close to colliding with Kenny McCormick, but had managed to stop about two feet short and succeeded spraying him with shaved ice.

She shook her head and brushed at his jacket with a white gloved hand.

"Sorry about that."

Kenny pitched his cigarette and watched Ella as she swept the ice from his hoodie. In the flashes from the bonfire, he caught little details of her sweater, the way her denim skirt hugged the curve of her thigh, the sheen of her tights. Her face in the alternating light and shadow was both gentle and tired, her nose sharpened by the contrast.

Ella straightened up and found Kenny studying her. She peeled off her gloves and flapped them around, shaking the ice from them.

"You're playing right into their hands you know." Kenny said, thin lips twitching.

"Hmm?" Ella cocked her head like a curious bird.

"You missed that?" Kenny asked, and then walked her through Red and Bebe's matchmaking machinations. "They've been watching too many movies." He concluded.

Ella smiled and shook her head. "So what happens now?" she asked.

"Well-" Kenny started and was promptly interrupted by a loud crack and explosion of red sparks in the sky overhead.

"Fireworks!" Ella clapped her bare hands and tipped her head up.

Despite an overcast start to the day, the night was clear and cold. Shells exploded overhead, bathing the awe-struck partygoers in flashes of blue, pulses of gold and showers of silver.

Ella watched, transfixed, even as Kenny moved closer to and bent low to be heard over the noise.

"If we were in a movie, this would be the part where our mutual attraction became too overpowering to resist." He placed a hand on her shoulder, desperately hoping she didn't feel the way it trembled. He nearly chickened out as she turned her head to look up at him. "The part where I say something desperately clever." He leaned in closer, cursing the difference in their height until the tip of his long nose touched hers. "You protest." He could feel the tremble in his hand make its way up his arm as their clouded breath commingled in the frosty air. "But underneath a canopy of fireworks we share a hungry, mind-blowing kiss."

Ella's eyes widened, but she didn't seem inclined to pull back even as his nose touched hers.

"What a cheesy movie." She said as Kenny's arm circled around her back.

"It's 11:35."

Kenny and Ella slowly turned their heads and were confronted by an impassive Craig Tucker. He showed Ella his phone.

"11:36." Craig corrected.

Ella took a deep cleansing breath and skated back from Kenny. She gave him a little wave and allowed Craig to pull her away by her sleeve.

Craig tucked his phone back in his pocket and flipped Kenny the finger over his shoulder.

"I fucking hate Craig." Kenny said, to no one in particular.

*

**Dude. I literally had to chop this chapter in half because it was obscenely long. I'm pretty sure it would have been a crime against fandom to post a chapter that long. So rather than try to jam it all in one chapter, Lucy Montgomery will come out to play in Chapter 9 for a little Craig torture and slumber party weirdness. Miss Vivi will return also. I'll clean it up a little and post it tomorrow. It's like 4 a.m. GAH! O.o **

"_**Shake That" by Eminem feat. Nate Dogg. **_**(That song just sounds like something Cartman might listen to while trying to look completely awesome in his new car.)**

**Mozart's Symphony no 40 – look it up YouTube and try headbanging to it. It works, I swear. **

**Spelling and grammar are bound to be atrocious given the hour. I apologize. I'm too much of a lazy hippie to fix it now. **

**Lastly: Craigoyle © me! Who wants one?! ^.^**


	9. Animal Magnetism

**South Park © T. Parker & M. Stone. I just defile their creation in fandom.**

**Ella Tweak is mine. Other lovely OC's featured in this chapter include:**

**Lucy Montgomery: created by Kootie Bomb**

**Vivi Sykes: created by PiScEs-BlOsSoM69**

**This chapter was originally part of Chapter 8 "The Sound of Five Dozen Idiots". Sometime around 4 a.m. I realized that the whole thing was about 18 pages long in Word and that the madness had to end, so I cut it in half. The action still takes place the night of Bebe's skating party.**

**Mebbe my chapters wouldn't be so long if my Author's Notes weren't half a page in and of themselves. **

**Christophe: *pokes his head in* Zat's right you beetch! *takes a jerky drag of his cigarette* Now get on wit ze story!**

***Hush shoves Ze Mole off the page.***

**O.o**

*

Stark's Pond – Sophomore Year

Ella Tweak tucked her skates in the back of Craig's car. Craig was already seated, belted and ready to go. Her cheeks burned in the cool air, and she took her time arranging her stuff. Whatever had nearly happened with Kenny McCormick was probably best interrupted. She knew she ought to be grateful for Craig's timely, almost spooky, intervention but something was growing in the back of her mind. Something she couldn't identify. All she knew is that she wanted to get back at Craig Tucker.

"Hurry up, crybaby." Craig urged, his monotone distant and annoyed in the front seat.

Ella considered dawdling just to be spiteful but felt a soft tap on her shoulder and turned around.

"Hey El, you going to Bebe's?" Lucy Montgomery asked, brushing her bright blue sidebangs out of her eyes.

"Yeah." Ella nodded, a bit overwhelmed by the riot of Lucy's clothes. Her style was creative and fun and something Ella might have chosen for herself, if she were more outgoing or sporty. They'd been stuck in a history class together in junior high. Ella remembered working on stupid group projects with her and having a good time. If nothing else, their combined creativity assured that their projects always looked the best, even if they completely winged the material. Lost in reverie, Ella was suddenly struck by an idea of such fiendish brilliance she laughed out loud.

Lucy smiled politely as Ella stared off into space for a moment and then stepped back, eyes wide as the blonde burst out laughing.

"Ahherm. Sorry." Ella giggled behind her hand. "Do you need a ride?" she asked sweetly, regaining her composure.

"Yeah, okay!" Lucy nodded towards the Rav4. "Is that…"

Ella nodded. "Craig Tucker's car. He won't mind though."

The truth was, Craig would mind. He would mind a lot. It would be glorious to watch him squirm.

Ella beckoned and then shook her head as Lucy moved to climb in the back seat.

"I'm shorter." She pointed out. "You need the legroom." Ella settled herself in the back and watched as Craig studied his phone, oblivious, until Lucy settled in beside him.

Ella bit her knuckle to keep from laughing right out loud as Craig turned to talk to her and found Lucy in her place. His dark blue eyes widened imperceptibly, but the way he drummed his fingers on the steering wheel told Ella all she needed to know - Craig Tucker was uncomfortable.

"You know Lucy, don't you?" Ella asked politely, when she dared speak aloud. "She's going to Bebe's too." Ella hid a smile with her hand as Lucy gave him a friendly but uncertain wave which he returned with a very grave, very small nod.

As Craig turned his attention to driving, Ella made sure to keep up a lively, boisterous conversation with Lucy, who responded in kind. Ella laughed at Lucy's uncanny impression of Mr. Mackey. He had recently given up elementary school counseling to take an assistant principal position at South Park High, and very little had changed.

"Mmkay now Lucy – you're not in fourth grade anymore. Mmmkay? Running in the halls is dangerous, mmmkay?" Lucy mimed Mr. Mackey pushing up his glasses. "What?! What did you just call me, mmkay?! A bunshole?! Well I appreciate you paying attention in swearing rehab, mmmkay."

Craig, who typically drove about as recklessly as an 83-year-old woman, sped up. He wasn't too sure how this had come about, but he just wanted it over. The giggling was too much, but when they'd turned to idly chatting about how cute Kyle Broflovski looked with a ponytail his knuckles turned white on the steering wheel.

Thankfully for everyone involved they were a mere 30 seconds from Bebe's house.

Craig pulled up to the curb and stopped abruptly. His eyes locked with Ella's in the rearview mirror.

"Thanks for the ride Craig." Lucy said cheerfully, exiting the car before he could respond.

Ella climbed out of the car with her stuff and leaned in the passenger side to collect her phone from the charger. Craig gripped her arm.

"What… was that?" he demanded.

"Lucy Montgomery. She's only been around for ages Craig, seriously." Ella tucked her phone in her pocket, careful to keep her tone calm, her expression placid.

"She plays hockey." Craig said after a prolonged silence during which Ella was certain he'd figured out where to hide her body after he choked her to death.

Ella's eyebrows shot up. Such a soliloquy from Craig could only mean one thing – he'd definitely noticed Lucy before. Noticed with a capital 'N'. The implications were staggering.

She forced her face into neutral and reached over and pinched his cheek. "That's right Craigers!"

Craig snarled and lunged for her, but she was too quick. His eyes narrowed to slits.

"I hope they give you a makeover."

Ella cackled and slammed the car door and headed up the driveway to greet Red and Heidi.

Craig watched her go, his jaw clenched. Goddammit. He took off the parking brake. Something was on the passenger seat – a quarter? Craig reached over and picked it up. It was a round pin, something that had undoubtedly escaped from Lucy Montgomery's person. She had loads of pins and buttons on her school bag. He turned the pin over in his hand and read it in the dim glow of the streetlight:

**I have animal magnetism: When I go outside, squirrels stick to my clothes.**

Craig studied the pin for a moment, tucked it in his pocket and drove off.

*

Stan Marsh and Eric Cartman sat on Stan's couch, a huge bowl of Cheesy Poofs between them. Kyle and Kenny were seated on the floor in front of them, playing "Why Won't You Just Fucking Die XIV" on Stan's new Okama Gamesphere 5000. Kenny, normally an indomitable and relentless gamer, was getting his ass handed to him by Kyle.

Stan's parents would be back tomorrow from visiting his great aunt Constance in Idaho, but tonight they had the house to themselves.

"I'm tellin' you Stan.. we could totally have some bitches over right now." Cartman said, in between handfuls of Cheesy Poofs. "AY! Kenneh! You're a pussy!" Kenny's ninja zombie overlord had succumbed yet again to Kyle's mutant pedophile priest. The screen was awash with blood.

"Eh." Stan shrugged. "It's late and any girls worth having over are all at Bebe's tonight."

"Millie's not at Bebe's" Cartman said pointedly.

"Yeah." Kyle said, turning around and digging in the bowl of Cheesy Poofs. "Stan said any girls 'worth having'. Millie sucks."

"She certainly does." Cartman said, looking smug.

"She even sucks at that." Kenny said, producing a mangled pack of smokes.

"What?!" Cartman snapped.

Kenny shrugged, tucking his hair behind his ears and lighting up. "That was homecoming. She could have improved her technique by now."

"Millie was… my homecoming date. You went with Heidi…" Cartman paused. "AW! Goddammit!"

*

"Truth, dare, double dare, promise or repeat?" Red asked, stretched out on Bebe's bed and reading a magazine.

"Umm." Ella, tapped her teeth with her marker. She was idly doodling on an old pair of Lucy's jeans, and the strange swirling designs were starting to look pretty good. She realized that truth or dare was a slumber-party ritual of old, but Heidi was there and she was spiteful. Ella picked dare last time and was grateful that she was merely forced to drink some vile concoction the girls had whipped up whatever they could find in Bebe's fridge.

"Truth." She decided, and went back to her drawing.

Red looked over at Bebe who was lounging in her red nightgown. Bebe nodded.

"Which guy do you think is the cutest?" Red asked and there was a general hush. Wendy stopped arguing with Heidi. Lucy paused in the midst of painting Vivi's nails.

"Craig Tucker." Ella said without pause and continued drawing.

Bebe made a disgusted noise and Red frowned. Of course she would answer 'Craig Tucker'. They all would. It'd been the wrong question.

"But which guy would you take to bed, if you could?" Heidi asked, looking sly.

Ella sat up straightening her blue flannel pajamas and looked at Heidi with a hint of disdain.

"That's two questions, and it's Wendy's turn." Ella answered simply, ignoring the collective grumbling.

"Truth, dare, double dare, promise or repeat?" Bebe asked Wendy, who was seated at Bebe's vanity and sampling her lip gloss.

Heidi snorted. "What's the point in asking? She always picks 'truth' or 'repeat'."

Bebe had to admit this was true. One could only derive so much pleasure out of forcing Wendy Testaburger to verbally abuse herself, to divulge fun facts about Stan Marsh. "You're right Heidi." Bebe said smiling at Wendy.

Wendy frowned. "You guys, this is a stupid, degrading game. All it does is divide young women and make them focus on boys and other superficial stuff."

Vivi closed her eyes briefly. She'd had about enough of Wendy. Every time Stan brought Vivi an armload of wood for the bonfire, Wendy had given her a venomous look. "It's a slumber party Wendy, for godssakes. It's not a Greenpeace rally." She blew on her freshly painted nails and examined them against her striped pajama bottoms.

Lucy capped the nail polish and put it on Bebe's nightstand. "Seriously Wendy. It's just a game. What do you want us to do? Draft a petition?"

Red looked up from her magazine. "We should just quit. It's not like Wendy ever picks d-"

"Double dare!" Wendy snapped, glaring as all the girls paused to look at her. It was Heidi who finally spoke.

"I double dare you to flash Eric Cartman on Monday at school. At lunchtime. In the cafeteria."

*

South Park High Cafeteria - Monday 11:30 a.m.

Eric Cartman's mouth fell open. A rather large glob of macaroni and cheese slid down his chin and landed on his tray with an audible plop.

Kyle Broflovski's green eyes widened and then he looked away, embarassed.

"Wendy! Jesus Christ!" Stan Marsh pinched the bridge of his nose.

Kenny McCormick leaned forward with an exaggerated squint. "I'd give them a 3.5 out of 10, but only because you're a friend."

*

**Whew. Sorry. Anytime I introduce new characters, I end up writing really random, rambling stuff. Anyway. Vivi and Lucy are in. I've got a couple more coming up when we have more fun with Nico and friends. Eventually, I'll write in more OC involvement after I ramble pointlessly trying to get them settled. **

**Future randomness includes a chappy of mini vignettes with Ella, Vivi & Lucy and a return to the dark side of the fic with two more OC's. ^.^**

**GAH! O.o  
**


	10. The Devil's Children

**South Park © T. Parker and M. Stone. Ella Tweak, Nico and Lilith belong to me.**

**Joining the Hushverse in this chapter:**

**Sarah Murphy: created by Sorrowsnow.**

**No big ramble before this installment. Too much serious business. **

**WARNING: Character death. **

*

Ella's alarm beeped in the semi-dark. She put her head up, her hair a twisted halo of ratty curls.

"Tweek?" she said, rubbing her eyes. When no response came, she slapped the snooze button and fell back on her pillows. Fifteen more minutes, she thought as she dozed. My birthday gift to me.

On December 3rd at 6:02 a.m., under Nico's watchful eye, Tweek's narrow chest trembled and then stilled. It was a quiet death, marked only by a shimmering heat as Nico departed and the scraping of shovels against asphalt.

*

Across town, Kyle Broflovski woke to find fourteen inches of snow clogging the driveway.

"Bubbeleh!" Sheila Broflovski's voice floated upstairs.

"Yeah, I know!" Kyle slipped his coat and hat on over his pajamas and went downstairs. His mother followed him as he stuffed his feet in his boots and went to shovel the walk.

"You're going to be late!" she fretted. "I want you to take Ike to the bus stop before you go to school."

"Shit!"

"Kyle!"

*

Stan Marsh stood at his living room window. Cartman always picked him up at the last possible minute and some days he wasn't certain they'd make it to morning practice on time.

He watched as his father shoveled the driveway, carelessly flinging the snow on top of his car as he worked. When Randy Marsh reached the end of the drive, he turned and found the driveway clean, but his car covered in a thick crust of snow. He invariably produced a large brush from the garage and brushed all the snow off onto the ground. The expletives began. More shoveling. More piling of snow on top of car. More brushing. More swearing.

Stan had never been to hell personally, but he was sure it closely resembled having to watch his father's Sisyphean snow-shoveling ritual for eternity.

"He wasn't always a dipshit." His mother said, coming to stand next to him and sipping her coffee.

*

Eric Cartman's bright red Eclipse tore through the morning hush. He cranked up the volume on his iPod until the windows trembled.

_There was something in the air that night  
The stars were bright, Fernando  
They were shining there for you and me  
For liberty, Fernando  
Though I never thought that we could lose  
There's no regret  
If I had to do the same again  
I would, my friend, Fernando_

Three ignored stop signs later, he pulled up outside Stan Marsh's house, and hastily changed songs just as Stan pulled on the door handle.

_Yeah I'm out that Brooklyn.  
Now I'm down in Tribeca.  
Right next to DeNiro  
But I'll be hood forever  
I'm the new Sinatra  
And since I made it here  
I can make it anywhere_

"Jay-Z again?!"

"AY! You're letting in the cold goddammit!"

*

Kenny McCormick pushed aside the shower curtain and stepped into the warm spray. He stood perfectly still for a moment, letting the water rush over his hair and down his face, a few drops finding purchase in his pale brows and on the tip of his long nose.

The warm water was a miracle in and of itself. His father always started the month of December by dabbling with sobriety, and occasionally it yielded something positive. Yesterday morning he'd done a little work for a local contractor and in the evening Stuart McCormick had tackled their dying water heater. The key was to enjoy it for what it was, because it usually ended abruptly on Christmas Eve when he had a drink 'to celebrate'.

Kenny reached for the shampoo and squirted an overly generous amount into his cupped hand. He squinted at his forearm and found a phone number written in black ink. Who-? Ah, who cares. Kenny grabbed a washcloth and scrubbed until nothing remained.

*

"You just looked so peaceful sleeping." Mrs. Tucker said.

"I'll be sure to tell them that when they put me in the tardy tank." Craig said, fumbling with the buttons on his coat on the way out the door. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the snow on top of his car. He looked at his phone. Twenty minutes until first period.

"Goddammit."

After five minutes of furious brushing, he was on his way, flying down Snowdrop Lane, his stomach twisting in knots. He was going to be embarrassingly late. Ella would be waiting for him at her window and now she would be late. They'd both have to spend first period in the tardy tank with the losers like Kenny McCormick.

He rounded the corner to Alpine court and then slammed on the brakes, dark blue eyes wide. The coroner's van was parked in front of the Tweak house flanked by two police cars.

*

"Sarah?!"

Damien, clad only in a pair of black jeans, tromped around his room, upending his clothes hamper, flinging clothes carelessly out of his closet.

"SARAH!" he shouted. Sometime around his fourteenth birthday, his voice had transformed from a squeaky falsetto to a deep and resonant bass. Damien's voice could be felt in the pit of your stomach, and right now his voice was not amused.

Sarah Murphy poked her head in the door, her chocolate brown eyes widening at the state of his room. Festoons of tangled clothes were draped over nearly every surface.

"Yes Damien?" she asked calmly, hurrying over to tackle the mess before it got completely out of hand.

"Where's my black shirt?"

Sarah paused. A full 95 percent of the shirts Damien owned were black. One had to answer carefully.

"Which one would that be?" she asked, restoring some of the shirts to hangers in the closet.

Damien turned to look at her and Sarah's heart pounded as it always did when he looked right in her eyes. He was furious, but his fury made him beautiful. Everything about Damien was extraordinary, but his dark eyes, broad muscular shoulders and slim waist were the icing on the cake. A very angry cake.

"The Italian silk. Not the plain one, the one with the subtle stripe pattern and pointed collar." Damien said with a look that told her she'd better find it.

Sarah took a step backwards and plucked the shirt in question off his bed.

"This one?" She asked sweetly.

Damien snatched the shirt and pulled it on, buttoning it quickly. He stood in front of his full length mirror and eyed his reflection critically.

"It works." He said. He turned and slapped Sarah on the backside. "Get to school, and you're excused tomorrow."

Sarah cranked her iPod as she left his room, nearly bumping into Lilith who was looking uncharacteristically gloomy.

Gloomy was just about right. Lilith had been pretty fucking gloomy since her father married Satan last April. She and her brother Nico had inherited Damien and all the baggage that went along with having the AntiChrist for a brother. Damien and Nico fought spectacularly whenever they crossed paths. The newlyweds had been on an extended honeymoon for about eight months now, and Satan's minions had given up trying to keep order in the house in their absence.

Her father had never been brilliant. He was an arch-demon, and thus very busy, but Lilith missed him stopping in to tuck her up in bed. Her brother, who had always been a complete asshole, now seemed determined to restyle himself as an all-powerful complete asshole. Without her father's intervention, he was well on his way. The first step to tapping into one's inner reservoir of demonic power was the torture and sacrifice of an innocent. Today, December 3rd, Nico had taken that step and it left Lilith cold. She knew her brother. He was jealous, wrathful and scheming. She was pretty sure that he had the sack to topple the throne of Hell, if left unchecked.

These unsettling thoughts led her to Damien's room. The AntiChrist was lacing his boots and looked up as she tapped on his open door.

"Lilith." He said.

"Hey D." Lilith settled herself on the end of his bed, looking grave.

Damien frowned. "What?" Lilith was okay. Damien had thrown an unholy tantrum when his father announced his engagement to her father Ashmodei. He'd done everything he could to sabotage the relationship, but they'd ended up married last April and were now off on Big Gay Al's Big Gay World Tour with a few dozen other gay couples. Lilith minded her business and was careful to stay out of his way. Nico, on the other hand, was a complete asshole.

"Its about Nico." Lilith said, tucking a strand of black hair behind her ear. Damien didn't say anything, so she went on. "You remember how I told you a few weeks ago that Nico was messing with those kids?"

"No." Damien said, indifferently, turning his attention to his reflection in the mirror.

Lilith closed her eyes. "Damien, don't be a dick. I told you. Last summer he went to Earth. To South Park. Two kids, a brother and sister, saw him arrive." She waited, but Damien said nothing as he combed his hair. "I told you. The Tweak kids."

"Oh yeah." Damien continued combing. "Now what?"

"Tweek died." Lilith said.

Damien stopped in mid-comb. "Tell me he had leukemia or something."

"Nico." Lilith said.

Damien snapped the comb in half. Wispy flames flickered around his fingertips. "He dares?! He has no right!" Damien looked around the room for something to incinerate.

"I'm worried D."

"Worried?!" Damien settled for torching a pillow. "He's supposed to be confined to minor mischief! Souring milk... siring animals with two heads… hiding remote controls! He's going to upset the hierarchy of Hell!"

"I know." Lilith said quietly.

Damien grabbed her arm with one hand and traced a large oval in the air with the other.

A portal hung in the air before them. The shimmering ether was full of images –tall pines, mountains, children playing in the snow.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"Earth." Damien replied. "Before dad finds out."

*

**Yeeeah. Don't hate me cos I killed Tweek. This is South Park, after all. You just never know.**

**This was a hard chapter to write. Still not happy with it. Anyway, We've got Sarah Murphy on board now. A new OC will join in the next couple of chapters – Amy McCormick, created by ZombiesOnYourLawn. **

**Today Cartman's iPod featured:**

_**Fernando, by ABBA and Empire State of Mind, by Jay-Z.**_

**Why does Cartman listen to ABBA when nobody is around? Because it was two in the morning when I wrote that. **

**Bear with me readers, there's a method to my madness. ^.^**


	11. Descent

**South Park © T. Parker and M. Stone. Ella Tweak, Nico and Lilith belong to me. **

**Super-smexy FFN OC's appearing in this chapter include:**

**Vivi Sykes: created by PiScEs-BlOsSoM69**

**Lucy Montgomery: created by Kootie Bomb**

**Amy McCormick: created by ZombiesOnYourLawn**

**I'd like to tell you that this chapter is less depressing than the last, but it's not. Also, in the Hushverse, Tweek's given name is actually Tobin. Canon be damned. **

**This story is, by the way, still a romance. I swear! ^.^**

**Warning: Character Death.**

*

Tweek Tweak was buried on a Saturday. The churchyard glittered with frost, giving it a magical and almost cheery appearance in the mid-morning light.

Father Maxi looked at the large, somber crowd gathered at the gravesite. It'd been a long time since he'd done a funeral for a child other than Kenny McCormick. In the last couple of years, Kenny's regular appearances in the small cemetery beside the church became less frequent. He tended to die less and when he did, some passerby usually threw a tarp over his corpse until he reappeared. What struck him about this funeral was the number of young people in attendance. Many of them he'd watch grow from Sunday school to young adults and the grim looks on their faces disheartened him. Taking a deep breath, he began.

"Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God…"

Craig Tucker, neatly dressed in a dark suit, stood next to Ella Tweak. He looked down at her blonde head which alternately rested on his shoulder, or Eric Cartman's. He'd sort of drifted apart from Tweek in the last few years, though he hadn't meant to. One day a couple years ago, Tweek leaned over as they played Craig's Okama Gamesphere and kissed the corner of his mouth. He still couldn't decide which was more uncomfortable – the kiss itself, or the look on Tweek's face when he realized that Craig was unreceptive to his timid advances.

Somehow that awkwardness never spilled over into his friendship with Ella. They'd spent hours roaming South Park and the surrounding woods and hills, never saying much and never really needing to. She brought a little sketchbook and he brought his camera. He'd helped her with math and she sewed buttons on his coat. He sat beside her when her brother's body was carried from her house. All the fragile energy that was Tweek, lost somewhere inside a black bag. He'd felt his eyes sting when she wailed as Tweek's body departed the house, even though his soul departed the earth some time before. He was standing next to her now, unable to look at her red eyes, her mute grief. He hated her parents for being too numb to comfort her, but he wouldn't have trusted anyone else to do it anyway. His eyes drifted over the crowd and always came to rest on a figure standing opposite.

Lucy Montgomery. Lucy's long black hair was brushed straight, her sidebangs dyed a deep green to match her dress. Craig was surprised at the sight of her dressed so simply. With less distraction from her bright colored jerseys, her big brown eyes stood out. Out of her baggy jeans she was lean and athletic. Only last Wednesday he'd sat on Ella's bed doing his science homework as Ella sketched him. He knew he'd tipped his hand about Lucy in front of her, and was itching to know what Ella thought about it. Her advice - 'Ask her on a date, dumbass' was sound. Craig had simply hoped for an alternative that didn't involve the possibility of rejection. Wednesday seemed ages ago now.

*

The AntiChrist frowned and jabbed at the buttons on the GPS. Lilith sat beside him, peering out the window of the black Ferarri, awestruck.

"Damien!" she poked him and pointed out the window. "Look at that… that thing!"

Damien leaned over and looked out the window, searching around for a great and wondrous 'thing'. His eyes followed the tip of her finger, and he scowled.

"That's a squirrel."

"Squirrel." Lilith repeated, missing Damien's exaggerated eyeroll as he abandoned the GPS and put the car into gear. Although the drive was short Lilith pointed out nearly everything she didn't recognize, thereby making it seem like an eternity. At last, Damien pulled over and parked in front of the Harbucks.

"I don't know why you couldn't just …" he snapped his fingers and got out of the car. "like you do, and whoosh us there or something."

Lilith followed him into the coffee shop. "Because I can't 'woosh' anyone but myself.' The girl stopped and pressed her nose against a glass case of baked goods. "Damien…"

Damien looked over, feeling heat in his fingertips. "That's a cupcake, you silly girl!" He snapped. "Honestly, have you been homeschooled your whole life?" he closed his eyes as she nodded. "It shows."

"Welcome to Harbucks, would you like to try our white chocolate peppermint mocha?" the girl at the counter asked politely.

Damien looked up at the menu board. "No. Give me a venti skinny vanilla latte, heavy foam, an extra shot and a dash of nutmeg."

"Damien…" Lillith said, nodding towards the bakery case.

"And a cupcake." He added sourly.

Amy McCormick was nearly sixteen the day the AntiChrist walked back into her life. Well, into the Harbucks to be exact. She had only been working there for a couple weeks when the manager's son died. He'd asked her, looking very lost, if she wouldn't mind covering alone on a Saturday morning. She didn't. There had been very few customers all morning, but around noon the mourners would be back to have coffee in honor of the twitchy boy.

The entire morning had dragged by and then he showed up followed by a shorter, dark haired goth girl.

"Damien?" she said with some hesitation.

Damien looked away from Lilith and his eyes settled on Amy's. Wait.. one light brown, one dark blue. She does look awfully familiar.

"Amy McCormick. We were at school together for a while. I was the one who distracted Principal Victoria when you blew up the staff toilets."

"Ahhh! Right. Kenny's cousin. It's been a while." He gestured to Lilith. "This is Lilith, my wicked stepsister."

"Our dads are gay." Lilith volunteered.

"This job is gay." Amy responded and gave Damien his change. A surge of heat traveled up her fingers as they brushed against his palm. She shivered slightly and made his coffee while he made small talk, asking for updates on all his old enemies.

"Tweek's funeral was today." Amy finished, handing him his coffee and Lilith her cupcake.

Damien tucked a few dollars in the tip jar with a slight smile. "And here you are."

"Yeah. Here I am. Are you coming back to school again?" she asked, wiping the counter.

"I'm considering it. My sister is a complete ignoramus and might benefit from high school, if you can imagine that."

Whether or not Amy could imagine it was never explored, as a steady stream of people arrived at the Harbucks to drink to the life of Tobin "Tweek" Tweak.

*

Liane Cartman drove Ella Tweak home after it had been decided she wouldn't bear up during her brother's wake. Mrs. Cartman helped her out of the minivan, squeezed her tightly and then led her inside. She sniffed as the blonde girl looked at her blankly. Liane opened a pill bottle on the counter and palmed one.

"Open up sweetie. The doctor says you need medicine." She placed the sleeping pill in Ella's open mouth and then gave her a sip of water. "Now. You go lay down, dollie. When you wake up, I'll have cookies for you." Liane watched as the girl silently climbed the stairs, then turned and rummaged through the cupboards, looking for flour.

*

Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski and Kenny McCormick climbed into Eric Cartman's car, each silent and pensive. No one spoke. No music was played. Just five minutes of complete silence on the ride to Harbucks.

Stan got out and walked ahead of the rest of them, not really wanting to talk. He shuffled along, hands in his pockets until a gust of wind sent something floating towards him. He caught it easily.

Vivi Sykes turned around as the wind whipped off her black beret and found herself face to face with Stan Marsh. He caught her hat in his hand. He held it out with a hesitant smile and she took it, placing it firmly on her head.

"Hey Stan." She said with a small wave.

Stan smiled dopily, feeling a familiar churning in the pit of his stomach. "Hey Vivi." How does one make small talk with a cute girl at a wake? He looked down, his eyes catching on the buttons of her coat, the wink of a silver ring on her thumb. He willed his stomach to settle.

Vivi's lips twitched and then she broke into a grin. Stan Marsh was cute. Not Craig Tucker gorgeous, but he was pleasantly handsome. He was funny, smart and well-liked, but for some inexplicable reason girls rendered him helpless.

"Would you like to sit and have coffee with me?" She asked, giving him her most non-threatening smile.

Stan nodded enthusiastically and then turned and puked all over somebody's Land Rover.

*

11:47 p.m.

Kenny McCormick stood in the darkened hush of Alpine Court. A light was on in Ella's room, but he couldn't see her. He'd stood with Heidi at the gravesite that morning, unable to do anything but watch Ella. He'd stuffed down the urge to shove Craig Tucker out of the way and give her his shoulder instead, but only just.

Kenny looked around the silent court and then jumped, catching the lowest branch in the bare oak tree standing like a sentinel on the Tweak's front lawn. He swung his legs up easily then climbed over to a thicker branch that was about level with Ella's window. Kenny reached out, tested the window and finding it unlocked, slowly pushed it open. He stood, balancing carefully, then swung his leg over the windowsill his foot touching Ella's bedroom floor.

Ella lay stretched out on her bed fast asleep, still wearing the black dress and mary janes from the funeral. She looked as though she'd simply walked in the door and collapsed. Kenny looked around nervously. Her room was neither messy nor neat, and wasn't covered with posters or pictures of friends. A drafting table dominated one corner, and the usual accoutrements of studenthood were scattered about the room. A basket of yarn sat by her bed, her math book rested on her nightstand along with a photo album and a copy of Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. Ahh.. freshman English.

Kenny swung his other foot inside and crept over to the bed. His thin hand reached out, the tips of his fingers brushing a lock of hair from her forehead. A black beaded rosary pooled in her cupped hand. He straightened up and carefully slipped her shoes off and placed them by the bed. His phone chirped and he fumbled for it, relieved that Ella slept on. Who's texting now?!

**Heidi:** need u rite now. 3

Kenny paused and then looked down at his crotch. "Shut up!" He whispered and then put his phone away. He sat in her desk chair and watched her sleep for a few more minutes, idly flipping through her photo album. Tweek, Craig, Tweek, Tweek, Cartman, Niagra Falls, mystery beach, Craig looking pissed. Kenny flipped ahead to the last page and stopped. A picture of Tweek at the Grand Canyon, probably from last summer, looking terrified. Right beside it was a picture of Ella. It looked as though Tweek had done the photography this time, as the frame was tilted. She waved to the camera, the sun catching the gold in her hair. Her smile was gentle and genuinely happy. Kenny wanted her to smile at him like that.

He stood and peeled off his jacket and draped it over Ella as she slept. He pulled his phone out and sent a quick text back to Heidi.

**Kenny:** pass

He peeled the picture of Tweek out of the album and put it in his wallet. Kenny then carefully removed the photo of Ella and put it in the pocket of his dress shirt.

*

Sargeant Yates pulled up to Tom's Rhinoplasty and parked amongst the cruisers already present, lights flashing. A patrolman nodded as he approached and lifted the yellow crime scene tape. Yates surveyed the scene and began to take notes.

Christophe Moliere died with his eyes open, his boots on and his shovel by his side. The blood on his lips was thick in the bitter cold.

*

Kenny walked along the train tracks just on the outskirts of town. He pulled out his phone and checked the time. 12:43. He stepped onto the tracks, just as the 11:50 express from Denver rounded the bend. It was brutally cold, but in about two minutes it wouldn't matter. He heard the screech as the engineer tried to brake.

Impact. A searing flare of pain. A tearing sensation.

Kenny died.

*

**GAH! O.o **

**Now that I've gotten the final OC introduced, hopefully I can start making sense again. **

**Sorry about the fatty chapter. Up next, life continues in South Park as it always does following tragedy – like nothing ever happened. Damien and Lilith continue their search for the rogue demon Nico. Other randomness ensues. **

**Hugs for all who've stuck with the fic this long. ^.^**


	12. Towelocaust

**South Park © T. Parker and M. Stone. Ella Tweak belongs to me. **

**Other awesomely awesome FFN OC's appearing in this chapter:**

**Vivi Sykes: created by PiScEs-BlOsSoM69**

**Lucy Montgomery: created by Kootie Bomb**

**Thought we could all use a break from death and let the kids be normal teenagers for a bit. ^.^ "Damien's girls" will return in the next chapter. **

*

South Park High – Monday 11:15 a.m.

Craig Tucker looked around the hall at a sea of faces. The faces of complete idiots. Third period was over, and Ella Tweak was nowhere to be found. He'd called her house Sunday night, and Mrs. Tweak insisted that they'd be sending her to school on Monday, a mere two days after they'd planted her brother. He'd pulled up at her house that morning at exactly 7:15, just as he'd done all year. Finally Mrs. Tweak came out of the house and said that Ella decided to walk that morning. It was only 10 degrees. She always came by his locker after third, and they braved the cafeteria together. Craig checked his phone. No texts. He shrugged and made his way down the hall, stomach growling.

*

Stan skirted Cartman and Wendy, safely making his way out of the classroom and successfully avoiding getting involved in their latest argument.

"You looked at my test Eric! I know you did!" Wendy insisted.

"Listen ho, I'm better at math than you are. I'm a guy." Cartman replied, brushing past Stan to get to the cafeteria.

"Girls are just as- ugh!" Wendy stomped her foot and walked away to join Bebe's group at the end of the hall.

Stan walked slowly. He knew Vivi also had a math class this period, and she had to be here somewhere. At last he spotted a flash of red-violet hair ahead of him and snuck up behind her. He tickled her side and quickly withdrew his hand.

Vivi gasped, turned and swatted Stan's arm.

"Oh my god… don't do that!" she said, looking a bit distressed.

Stan blinked. That wasn't a typical Vivi reaction. "What is it?"

Vivi patted his arm. "It's not you. It's Christophe – you heard? He and I were friends, not that I'd seen him much lately but still…" she trailed off and put a hand to her forehead. It had been a strange weekend altogether. First Tweek's funeral, then Christophe. Something was very wrong and Vivi felt helpless, an unfamiliar feeling.

Stan only hesitated a second and then wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her head. Vivi's usual playful personality had evaporated, and that worried him.

Vivi's heart sped up as Stan enfolded her in a tight, warm embrace. His arms were so strong and he smelled clean and comforting. She rested her head on his chest for a moment until he stepped back and took her hand.

"I think we should go off campus for lunch. I have a car today." Stan said, adjusting her scarf. "Willie's?"

"Well… okay, but you're doing the whistling."

*

Cartman carefully balanced his heavy lunch tray in one hand, trigonometry book in the other. It was fiesta day, something he'd looked forward to all morning. He steered himself towards the usual table and frowned. Kyle Broflovski was seated alone, texting away.

"Ay! Where the fuck is Stan?" Cartman demanded, setting down his tray and somehow fumbling the math book, sending several folded papers fluttering into Kyle's lap.

Kyle sighed as Cartman plopped down at the table.

"Stan went off campus for lunch. Willie's." Kyle replied, pointing to his phone. He was a bit annoyed about being left to his own devices at lunch, especially when it became abundantly clear that his only dining companion would be Cartman.

"Stan went to Willie's and didn't invite us?" Cartman demanded, taking an enormous bite of his burrito. "What a douche!" he said, with a full mouth.

Kyle fetched Cartman's errant papers, glancing at a couple as he handed them over. One in particular caught his eye. He scanned it quickly, smirked, and then handed it back to Cartman.

"You spelled titties wrong." Kyle said, taking a sip of milk. "Twice."

"AY! That was my personal, private business ya goddamn Jew!" Cartman snapped, snatching his papers back and stuffing them in his trig book.

"I'm just sayin." Kyle shrugged. "Also, if you're writing a poem to a girl –you might want to not mention titties at all."

A faint pink tinged Cartman's cheeks. "I only mentioned them twice." He said defensively.

Kyle shrugged. "Who's it for anyway? Millie?"

"Er.. yeah. Millie." Cartman agreed. "Listen, assmaster. I'll pay you to write me a poem."

Kyle raised an eyebrow. This could get interesting.

*

Craig looked around the cafeteria in horror. Fiesta day? God. Fucking. Dammit. He banged his head rhythmically on the wall.

Heidi sidled up to Craig and smiled. "What's the matter cutie? I love a hot enchilada."

Craig snarled and Heidi scooted away only to be replaced by Lucy Montgomery. Craig quickly dropped his expression down to neutral and idled there.

"Hi Craig!" Lucy said enthusiastically, tucking her ice blue sidebangs behind her ear. She evidently had some kind of winter theme going on today. Her sweater was the same shade of blue and dappled with snowflakes. She paired it with a denim skirt, her long legs in matching blue tights with white boots. Craig caught himself staring a bit too much and scowled to compensate.

"Lucy." He replied, with a small nod and then turned his head back to the food, frowning.

"Aww. What's the matter Cwaig." Lucy teased, helping herself to some tacos with the works.

Cwaig? Craig let it go, too distraught over the food to snarl. "I hate Mexican. It's too spicy."

Lucy shook her head, grabbed a bean and cheese burrito and plunked it on his tray. "Live a little Craig. You're too young to be so old." She grinned and paid the cashier, leaving Craig staring at his tray.

What just happened? Craig paid and trailed after her, hesitating momentarily as she sat at the end of a table by herself. Oh why not...

"Bitch." He said with the slightest trace of playfulness and sat opposite her.

"Asshole." Lucy replied, handing him a napkin and then cracking up as he carefully cut his burrito with a knife and fork. "Craig, seriously. Eat it with your hands."

"No way." Craig continued cutting the burrito in even pieces. He wasn't really sure what to say to her. Typically he depended on Ella as a buffer in social situations, both to initiate conversations for him, and to smooth over his bluntness.

Fortunately Lucy proved adept at picking up the slack in a conversation and busily chatted with him in between bites of her tacos. Craig listened, nodding occasionally as she filled him on the latest. He wasn't at all surprised to hear that Bebe and Token were dating.

"Sour cream." Lucy said, pointing to the corner of Craig's mouth.

"Here?" Craig asked, pointing to the left corner.

Lucy shook her head and leaned over and pointed at the opposite side. "There."

Impulsively, Craig snapped at her finger and caught it. He held it firmly between his teeth and grinned.

*

A brisk wind blew through the quad and cornered the industrial arts buildings with an unholy howl. The shop buildings were desolate at lunchtime and housed a labyrinth of alleys and narrow passageways between structures. It was a place frequented by stoners, smokers and couples looking for a quick rendezvous. The school administrators didn't bother patrolling the area with the same zeal they did the bleachers.

Ella Tweak leaned up against the back wall of the metal shop, right in the heart of this labyrinth. Her petite frame was completely swathed in a ratty brown hoodie, the hem of which came to her knees. The sleeves flowed over her hands and she pushed them up, fishing a paper out of her bag. D+. She'd gotten a D+ on her algebra test. She had completely spaced the test under what she thought were understandable circumstances. Mr. Thompson, her math teacher, disagreed and made her take the exam anyway. She was going to have to show it to her parents, who - despite the fact they just buried their sixteen year old son– were being remarkably douchy about everything. Groundation was imminent.

Ella zipped the hoodie over her nose and inhaled smelling tobacco smoke and something strange and sweet. Kenny. She woke up late Sunday morning underneath his jacket with no real recollection of how it got there. Later, her parents mentioned that he died (again) as they drank their coffee. They were more concerned about the death of Christophe Moliere, as it was highly unlikely they'd see him ambling down the lane a few days later. She slid down the wall and sat, drawing her knees up and pulling Kenny's hoodie down to her toes.

"Hey kid." A soft voice said next to her. "Wanna get high?"

Ella turned. "Hey Towelie." She stuffed her hands in her pockets. Kenny's pockets.

Towlie settled himself next to her. "Something wrong?" He busied himself with rolling a joint.

"Life wrecks my head." She said looking up at the sky as tiny flakes of snow slowly spiraled downward.

"That sounds like fun." Towelie admitted, sealing the joint and inspecting it.

"Not like that." Ella shook her head. "Something awful happened last summer. Something that wouldn't have happened if I had just listened to my brother. I never listened to Tweek. I always thought he was too afraid. He was right though." Ella cupped her hand and watched as the snowflakes disappeared on contact with her skin. "And now he's dead. Most of South Park is acting like it's not a big deal, including my parents."

"Heavy." Towelie said, lighting his J.

"My classes suck except for art and shop." She continued.

"Art. Awesome." Towelie said, his voice distant.

"And there's this boy that I like, but I shouldn't. My dad would kill him. So would Craig." Ella paused. Wait - am I pouring my heart out to Towelie?!

"Yeah. That happened to me once." Towelie said, taking a long toke of his joint. "She was this little pink hand towel. Sweet and fluffy. Not nearly as absorbant as I am, but still…" he sighed.

"What happened?"

"She was incinerated during the Towelocaust. They were looking for me." Towelie sniffed.

Ella facepalmed. I can't believe I'm having a heart-to-heart with a piece of terrycloth. She stood and shouldered her bag.

"Towelie. You suck."

"I know." He said contentedly.

*

**The "Towelocaust" refers to the episode "Towelie" in which the military 'kills' all the towels in a 1000 mile radius. At the end of the episode, Cartman says something to the effect of "You're the worst character ever, Towelie." Towelie says "I know." **

**Towelie really is one of the worst, but I can't help but throw him in, now and then. He's kinda fun to write. ^.^ **

**Anyway. Like I said, everyone deserves a break. Next chapter is right back to the serious effing business with some blasphemy thrown in. **


	13. The Harrowing of Hell

**South Park © T. Parker and M. Stone. Ella Tweak, Lilith and Nico belong to meh.** **Super diva FFN OCs appearing in this chapter:**

**Sarah Murphy: created by Sorrowsnow**

**Amy McCormick: created by ZombiesOnYourLawn**

**Warning: Character death (yeah, I said it…), ideologically sensitive material. **

**Rated B for blasphemy and D for Damien's surging hormones. **

**Sorry about the enormous chapter guize. ^.^**

*

_Now the D and the A and the M  
And the N and the A  
And the t and the I-O-N  
Lose your face, lose your name  
Then get fitted for a suit of flame. _

_–Hell, Squirrel Nut Zippers_

"HELL-o, welcome to Limbo!"

Kenny cracked open an eye and found himself in a very familiar place indeed. Dante had been dead wrong about Limbo. It was all hard plastic chairs, mauve wallpaper and tattered issues of Field and Stream from 1983. It always reminded Kenny a doctor's office waiting room.

"HELL-o, welcome to Limbo!"

Kenny looked up and met the eyes of a woman with a bunched face like a baboon's backside crowned with an enormous beehive hairdo. She handed him a slip of paper.

"Here's your number. Please wait until you're called."

Kenny looked at the slip. _534,431? No fucking way_. He crumpled the paper into a ball and bounced it off her forehead.

"You must be new." He said pushing past her and walking up to the receptionist's window.

"Sir. The middle aged she-demon behind the desk sounded irritated. "You'll have to wait until your number is ca- KENNY!"

"Hey Roz." He flipped her a grin.

"It's been months!" she leaned across the desk and gave him a hug, then turned to the other she-demons in the office. "Girls! The Immortal is back!"

Kenny waved at the squealing demons, who looked like average women only with tiny horns and forked tongues.

"So what was it this time?" Roz asked, clicking away on her Macbook and bringing up his file.

"Suicide by train. When did you guys switch to Mac?" he asked curiously, digging for his wallet.

"Since His Dark Lordship bought Apple." Roz frowned. "Suicide Kenny? Very naughty indeed."

"It's important Roz." He pulled the picture of Tweek out of his wallet and held it out. "I came for him. Is he here or has he already been condemned?"

Roz perched a pair of reading glasses on the end of her nose and examined Tweek's picture. "Hmm… I could do a search. Do you know the cause of death?"

"Homicide." Kenny said. "Nico."

Roz shook her head. "This must be Tobin Tweak then. We all heard about that. Young master Nico will be in quite a lot of trouble when his father gets back." She clicked the mouse a few times. "He's actually waiting for his appointment in Intake Room 13." She reached into a small box and produced a silver ankh on a chain. "Here's your pass."

"Thanks." Kenny slipped the chain around his neck and pecked her on the cheek.

"Be careful!" she called out.

*

_Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition. _

_-2Thessalonians 2:3_

Sarah Murphy carefully balanced a large tray in one hand while quietly opening Damien's door with the other. She had no idea why Damien always requested such an enormous breakfast, three quarters of it would sit untouched. Her chocolate brown eyes darted around the room, expecting to see Damien getting ready for his first day of school and instead found the Prince of Hell sprawled on his red silk sheets, fast asleep.

Sarah set the tray on his nightstand with a clatter.

"Damien." She said softly. Rousing Damien was a dangerous game. His moods were typically variations on irritated, and he was not a morning person. Sarah frowned and gave him a little shove.

Damien's dark eyes opened slowly and he stretched, spreading his arms wide. Today, it seemed, he was feeling benevolent. He sat up and ran a hand through his hair.

"You have about 45 minutes before school." She said passing him a cup of coffee.

"Why didn't you get me up earlier?" he demanded and tipped his head back, draining the mug in one go. He crawled out of bed, his lean body clad only in black boxers.

Sarah did her best to avert her eyes, but couldn't resist a peek as he disappeared into the bathroom for a shower. She busied herself tidying his desk which was currently awash in magazines, coffee cups and various memos on official Hell business.

"Good morning Sarah." Damien purred in her ear, laughing as she jumped about two feet.

"Not funny!" Sarah said, turning around. Her eyes widened as they darted from his sharp-toothed smile to the red towel that was threatening to slip from his waist.

"Very funny." Damien leaned in close, snapping his teeth at her. "Where's Lilith?"

Sarah backed up slightly. "Lilith should be at school already. She had to see her counselor." She blushed as Damien advanced and placed a hand on her side.

"Yeah? I'd better get there. The entire place could be in flames by now." Damien dropped his hand and smacked her backside. "You're excused."

Sarah stepped around Damien and made for the door, blushing and a bit breathless. Before the door could close behind her, she felt something wet hit her shoulder and fell at her feet.

A red towel.

*

Intake Room 13 was overwhelming in its whiteness. It took a minute or two of furious blinking before Kenny could make out the lone figure sitting at a dilapidated table. The slight boy was dozing in a metal folding chair, his blonde hair tumbling to his shoulders in smooth, almost sculpted, waves.

"Tweek?" Kenny said, confused. He pulled Tweek's picture out of his wallet again and squinted at it.

Tweek opened his eyes slowly and looked up. His sharp little nose and light green eyes reminded Kenny so strongly of Ella that he nodded and put away the picture.

"Hey Kenny." Tweek said serenely. "You die again?"

Kenny blinked. Something was very, very wrong.

"You okay Tweek? Aside from…" he waved his hand to indicate Hell in general. "You seem – calm." Kenny concluded.

"This is Hell Kenny. There are no lattes here." Tweek answered matter-of-factly.

"Right. I came here to f-" Kenny started.

"How's Ella? My parents?" Tweek interrupted.

"Your sister is messed up, dude. You died on her birthday and­-" Kenny stopped himself. "That's kinda why I'm here. Come on, before you get condemned." He tugged at Tweek's sleeve.

"I forgot to get her a present." Tweek said lamely, following along with Kenny. "Where are we going?"

"We're getting the fuck out of here, that's where." Kenny pulled him along through the waiting room.

"But – nobody ever gets out of Hell except you and Satan." Tweek protested.

"Shhh!" Kenny stopped and cocked his head, listening. Tweek imitated him.

"Goddamn you beetches! I want a fucking smoke!"

"The Mole?" They said in unison.

Kenny pulled Tweek through the crowd and nearly stumbled over Christophe Moliere who was jabbing his shovel at several Limbo attendants and spitting mad.

"Fucking cigarette!" Christophe yelled.

"This is Hell." Tweek said to the furious Frenchman. "They don't have cigarettes.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!"

Kenny turned to the bewildered attendants and smiled reassuringly. He took Christophe by the arm and maneuvered him through the dispersing crowd of onlookers.

Christophe grumbled and when they were a safe distance away, jerked his arm out of Kenny's grasp.

"Zis is insane!"

"When did you die?" Tweek asked in a strangely tranquil voice.

"Last night, I think." Christophe said, reholstering his shovel.

Kenny listened as Christophe and Tweek exchanged stories. Nico seemed to be the common denominator. He cleared his throat politely.

"They're going to start looking for you Tweek. We have to get out of Limbo." Kenny motioned and smaller boy followed.

Christophe watched them for a minute.

"Beetches." He said, trailing after Tweek.

Kenny led them to a darkened corner of the enormous room. In the shadows sat a rickety lift that looked to be made of human bones. He pressed a series of buttons and the doors parted. When he turned to address Christophe and Tweek, he found them staring, wide-eyed.

"Service elevator." He explained as though it made sense. "Now come on bef-"

"Hey guys." A somewhat nasally voice came from behind them.

The three boys turned slowly.

Kenny stared. "Clyde?!"

"What's going on?" Clyde said casually, even though he was dressed in nothing but a pair of blue briefs.

In a matter of minutes, they'd interrogated Clyde only to discover that he too had a run-in with Nico.

"He was waiting for me in my bedroom. I just remember feeling as though I were burning up inside. Then nothing." Clyde shrugged, as if he were slain by demons on a daily basis. "So what's up?"

"Kenny's getting us out of here." Tweek said, looking dubious.

An intercom crackled. "Tobin Tweak, please report to Intake Room 13."

"Let's go. Now." Kenny insisted, pulling Tweek onto the elevator. He waited impatiently as Christophe and Clyde shuffled on as well. He pressed the number 7 and felt his stomach heave as the lift rattled to life.

"What's on level seven?" Clyde asked, pushing his mop of shaggy brown hair out of his eyes.

"Damien." Kenny said, watching the numbers light up.

*

"Now class, we have a new student joining us today. Say hello to Damien."

Damien smirked. He recognized most of the kids in the class from his years at South Park Elementary. Their expressions ranged from curious to fearful. Good.

"Take that seat right over there Damien, next to Miss McCormick." Mrs. Parker pointed and then returned to writing on the chalkboard.

Damien made his way to the empty desk, ignoring the whispers and some of the very favorable comments made by the female students. He sat and smiled briefly at Amy McCormick, who'd stopped taking notes and was looking at him. He returned the gaze, somewhat fascinated by her wide heterochromatic eyes. They were odd, but lovely. He winked slowly at her and turned his attention forward.

Mrs. Parker droned on about the Grapes of Wrath. Damien stared straight ahead, but his mind was on Nico. _He has to be stopped before Dad gets back_, he thought, feeling a headache blooming behind his eyes. He hastily scribbled a note to Lilith "_Investigate Tweak house tonight…"_ He started when the bell rang.

Amy McCormick stood. Sitting next to Damien was distracting. He appeared to be listening during the lecture and maybe he'd be able to tell her what it was about. She'd suddenly found it very difficult to pay attention. Lost in thought, she stubbed her toe and dropped her notebook.

"Walk much?" Cartman said, passing her.

Damien stooped, retrieved her notebook and held it out to her.

"Thanks." Amy said, tucking it firmly under her arm.

"Maybe you can help me." Damien said, filing out of the classroom behind her. "I've tried my combination twenty times - nothing." He paused four lockers down from hers and fished a slip of paper out of his tight jeans pocket. He held it out to her, his lips curving into a persuasive smile.

Amy took the slip of paper, feeling heat in her neck as he looked at her. She twirled the lock, feeding in the numbers one by one. As she dialed the last number, she gave the lock a little push and the door popped open.

"These locks suck. You have to push on them a bit." She said, shifting her notebook to her other arm.

Damien patted her arm and tossed his English book into the empty locker. "What's next on your schedule?" He asked, putting up a mirror on his locker door and checking his hair.

"Geometry." She replied, opening her own locker and pulling out her math book. She closed the door and found Damien standing behind it.

"I think Lilith is in your class." He said silkily. "Give her this for me." Damien handed her a folded note and tugged on a lock of her hair. He turned to walk away but paused and looked back over his shoulder. "Maybe I'll catch you later and you can teach me everything you know." He smiled slowly, the tips of his sharp canines glinting against the pink fullness of his lower lip. "About the Grapes of Wrath, I mean." He clarified and then strode off down the hall towards the quad.

*

"I'm sorry Kenny" Sarah Murphy said, carefully folding a mound of black clothes. "You just missed him. I'm not too sure when he'll be back."

Kenny thanked Sarah and returned to Damien's living room where Christophe, Tweek and Clyde sat on Satan's pink chintz sofa, looking very uncomfortable. He shook his head.

"Sheet."

"Now what?" Tweek asked, as the boys followed Kenny into Satan's bedroom. The room had sort of a cave-meets-shabby-chic ambiance and while Kenny took no notice of the overly feminine décor, Christophe's eyes boggled.

"Zis is where Satan sleeps? No sheet?" he asked, frowning at the pink cordless phone on the nightstand.

"We arm ourselves. We have a long walk ahead." Kenny answered Tweek and opened a white armoire plastered with pictures of Satan and a handsome, dark-haired man. He examined the rows of weapons and other dangerous looking implements within.

"Sweeeet." Clyde said, removing a silver-tipped spear and hoisting it experimentally.

"Satan is a sweesh?" Christophe went on.

Kenny buckled a scabbard belt around his slim waist. "A what?" he said, sheathing a sword and handing a mace to Tweek.

"A sweesh, you beetch. Fey? A card-carrying friend of Dorothy? A homosexual?" the Frenchman ran his hand through his rumpled hair.

"Yeah. He's gay dude." Kenny said pointing to the remaining weapons.

"Non." Christophe said, giving his shovel a loving caress. "I cannot believe zis." He shook his head. "And I thought God was a faggot."

"Well so what if he is?" Tweek said.

Kenny closed the armoire. He'd heard a few stories about Tweek, most of them from Butters who was not only a friend of Dorothy, he occasionally wore the ruby slippers.

"Dude. Are you gay?" Clyde asked Tweek, puzzled.

"Not really. I like both." Tweek shrugged. "Doesn't everyone?"

"No." Kenny and Clyde said in unison.

"No." Christophe said half a beat later, and sounding much less certain.

*

12:01 a.m.

It was an unusually quiet night in South Park. Thick, wet flakes of snow slanted down on the slumbering town, carried by a brisk wind. Mayor McDaniels had instituted a mandatory 9 p.m. curfew for all citizens after a tremendous public outcry in response to the recent murder of Clyde Donovan. All public gathering places were closed and the South Park PD were predictably stumped.

Only sound of the wind could be heard in Alpine Court. The ground was thick with snow and the houses were dark. In house 133, a green light pulsed in an upper bedroom window.

Lilith blinked, disoriented. As her vision righted itself, she vaguely recognized Ella Tweak's room. She tiptoed over to the bed and saw the girl sleeping, her curls spread over the pillow, blankets bunched at the end of the bed. Lilith moved to pull the covers over the sleeping Ella but recoiled at the sight of a rosary wound around one of her pale hands. _Nevermind._

Lilith turned her attention to Ella's desk and dresser, looking for any clues, anything Nico might have left behind. Her quick search turned up nothing. She chewed her lip thoughtfully. _He had to have given her something. Something to keep her quiet, something to compel her to work on his behalf. _ Lilith tapped her teeth with a fingernail and as a last resort, opened Ella's closet.

Lilith pushed aside a variety of shirts, skirts and pants before throwing up her hands. She turned to close closet and there, hanging on a hook on the back of the door, was an oversized dark gray hoodie. Lilith put her hand out, touched it hesitantly and felt a thick, wooly fog nudge it's way into her brain. Numbness crept up her fingertips and she pulled her hand back. _Gotcha._ Lilith pulled a duffel bag out of the closet and stuffed the coat into it, touching it as little as possible. She quietly closed the closet door and was gone with a snap and another pulse of light.

*

"I wish I had a taco right now."

Kenny pinched the bridge of his nose, then realized he was pulling a Stan and dropped his hand. Clyde had only mentioned his taco craving about hundred times in the last four hours.

"This is Hell Clyde. In Hell, not only do you not get tacos – you don't get to eat." Kenny said, continuing his slow and steady climb up a narrow rocky path flanked by a pool of molten lava and a valley of razor sharp stalagmites. In Hell, everything was uphill. Everything.

Tweek, following just behind him, was calm and quiet. Christophe trailed Tweek, his shovel at the ready. Clyde dragged his spear behind, now contemplating not only a tacoless eternity, but hurtling through infinity with a growling stomach. Clyde was not pleased.

Kenny hummed the overture to Gluck's "Orfeo Ed Euridice" as he walked. Although he had a plan, he wasn't entirely sure how it would all work out, now that there were four of them instead of just two.

"Kenny?" Tweek said from somewhere behind him.

"Hmm?" Kenny continued humming.

"Thanks for coming to help me – even if we end up falling into a lake of fire and writhing in agony for a few millennia, I appreciate it."

Kenny closed his eyes briefly. "You're welcome." He didn't have the heart to tell Tweek that it had little to do with him, and a lot to do with his sister. Kenny slipped the picture of Ella out of his breast pocket and looked at it briefly as he walked. She wasn't even close to being the cutest girl in school, but her smile just lifted him up. _That, and she has a hot freakin ass… _ Kenny didn't allow those thoughts to dwell long. It might've been okay with Heidi, who was very pretty in a sluttish way with a decidedly inferior ass, but somehow it seemed rude with Ella.

"And so I'm going to ask her out, when I get back…" Tweek said.

Kenny dimly realized Tweek had continued talking to him while he'd been attempting to think pure thoughts about his sister. He stuffed the picture back into his pocket.

"Ask who out?"

"Vivi Sykes." Tweek said. "She's awesome."

Kenny stopped walking. They had reached a large plateau and he could hear the others gasping behind him, both in fear and awe.

"Holy sheet."

*

**Again. Sorry for the extra long chapter. Lots going on here. **

**For the curious, the title of the chapter refers to a story told in the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus called "The Harrowing of Hell." In the story, Jesus returns to hell to rescue all the righteous unbaptized Old Testament figures and bring them up to heaven. Did I just equate Kenny McCormick with a messianic figure? Yes I did. Is it blasphemous? Yes it is. **

**Also, a brief mention of Dante's Divine Comedy. **

**"Hell" (c) Squirrel Nut Zippers  
**


	14. The Forgotten Queen

**South Park © T. Parker and M. Stone. Ella Tweak belongs to me.**

**This chapter is primarily dedicated to Hell. Shameless references to Dante's "Divine Comedy", Virgil's "Aeneid" and various Greek myths are contained within, all of which have been bent to suit my own warped ideas. **

**There aren't too many chapters left in this particular story, but the second "book" is already churning in my head. It should include a significantly less supernatural story (although Kenny is always an exception), Christmas, changing schedules, Bebe's Super Sweet 16 and a spring play. (That drabbley thingie I wrote in "Seven Deadly Sins: South Park Style!" for Doomed-Orange-Parka's Lucky Day gave me sooo many ideas. Woo!) Hopefully I can persuade some of my infinitely awesome OC's to come back and join the Tweak siblings for more South Park randomness. **

**Ramble over, now go to Hell…**

*

"I'm hungry." Clyde Donovan reminded everyone. "And cold."

Contrary to popular belief, Hell was not entirely consumed by flames. The plateau before the great walled city of Dis was frigid, with stiff winds that blew always in your face. In Hell, the wind is never at your back. Never. Clyde, who had the misfortune to die wearing only his blue underpants, was colder than the rest.

"Shut up, fatass." Christophe growled, his eye twitching from nicotine withdrawal.

"Ay! I'm not fat, I'm big-boned, you goddamn Frenchie!" Clyde snapped.

Tweek mumbled something that was lost on the wind.

In the lead, Kenny McCormick became acutely aware of how Stan Marsh must feel, and must have felt for years. The urge to pinch the bridge of his nose was overwhelming, but he squashed it and pressed on, the wind blowing his cornsilk hair back from his face.

"We're almost there. I know it looks far, but it's closer than you think." Kenny pointed to the great city with the tip of his sword. _Goddammit. That's something Stan would say._

The City of Dis, city of the damned, dominated the landscape. A massive cylinder of black stone with clawlike turrets, Dis housed some of Hell's most vile sinners and unfortunately, Kenny reminded himself, the key to bringing everyone home.

"We've been walking for days." Clyde said wearily.

"Hours, actually." Kenny said with strained patience. "Speaking of which, I have about twelve hours before I'm restored to my body. We need to press on, unless you'd like to spend the rest of eternity right here, sans tacos."

"And cigarettes." Christophe said mournfully.

"Lattes." Tweek chimed in.

Clyde nodded and shouldered his spear, picking up the pace and passing Christophe.

Christophe, who had become increasingly irritable over the past several hours, was in no mood to be passed up by the 'fat kid' and thus a race to the city gates began.

Clyde, who had the benefit of not having chain smoked since he was eight years old, was able to keep a slight lead, laughing as he ran.

Christophe panted "No… you… don't, you fat beet-" A chilling scream came from behind them. Christophe skidded to a stop and turned. Clyde wheeled around and came up beside him.

"Oh my God" Tweek shouted. "It killed Kenny!"

'It' was at least seven feet tall. It snarled, rows of sharklike teeth gnashing as it unfurled wings of smoke and flame. Kenny lay at its feet, his thin body sadly torn, one blue eye staring, one socket empty. Christophe could feel his hair standing on end as the beast turned towards Tweek.

"You bastard!" Tweek shouted and charged the beast, mace in hand. He struck a swift but glancing blow that skidded off the demon's chest. Enraged, Tweek redoubled his effort, swinging blindly.

The sight of the small boy tackling the huge demon was almost comical, but once Clyde recovered from his shock he too charged, his spear aloft, into the fray.

Tweek gasped as the creature plucked the mace out of his hands and flung it farther than he could see. He took a step back as the beast raised a massive pincered hand. Tweek squinched his eyes shut and waited for the blow, but it never came. He cracked an eye open and found Christophe and Clyde standing in front of him, shovel and spear at the ready.

During the melee that ensued, Tweek could just make out the flashing point of Clyde's spear or the dull thud of The Mole's shovel as the two boys desperately tried to overpower the lumbering creature. At last, Clyde's spear caught the beast between the ribs and he put all his weight behind the thrust.

The demon screamed, enraged, and thrashed as viscous black blood spurted from the wound. It staggered back, the spear still lodged in its side. Christophe looked at Clyde in amazement. His mouth moved to praise him when the beast charged and seized Clyde, lifting him off the ground and shaking him violently. Tweek turned and vomited at the sound of Clyde's ribs snapping one by one.

The demon laughed, a filthy guttural sound. It lowered Clyde toward its mouth, teeth bared and then stopped.

A gleam of silver burst through the creature's chest, splitting its sternum with a sickening crunch. The demon gave a final, ear-splitting scream and burst into a cloud of smoke, a whiff of sulfur and disappeared, spear and all, leaving Clyde hanging in midair for a split second before he crashed to the ground.

Tweek rushed to help Clyde to his feet as a huge gust of air carried the smoke away. Standing with his sword raised was Kenny, one-eyed, grim-faced.

"Mon dieu…" Christophe said. "You were dead."

Kenny sheathed the sword and sighed. "This is Hell. There are 86,400 seconds in a day. You can die every second of every day here and still get up to die again."

*

Tweek walked alongside Clyde as they climbed the seemingly endless, polished stone staircase in the outer ring of the dark city. Clyde staggered at first, but stood straighter as the minutes ticked by. He tried to explain the sensation of feeling your own ribs knitting themselves together and failed spectacularly.

"Like crawling under my skin." Clyde said with a shrug.

Tweek nodded, his pale green eyes fixed on Kenny, who seemed to be managing well. The tall blonde boy improvised an eye patch by tearing a long strip from his dress shirt and he was back in the lead again, his head down. Tweek knew he was looking at the picture of Ella again, even though Kenny seemed to think he was being sly. _If we actually find a way out, I'll owe him a great deal – but I don't think I'll owe him Ella. He'd have to understand. Nobody would want someone like him hanging around their sister. _

Kenny tucked the picture of Ella back in his shirt pocket, missing her smile the instant he did so. The others were quiet behind him. Even Christophe, who could argue about anything, simply brought up the rear, humming "La Marseillaise" as he did so. Kenny's entire body cried out for rest, but he pushed on until he reached a landing in front of one of the impressive and sinister looking turrets. A large, wooden door, carved with animals, flowers and fruit stood before him, looking strangely out of place against the sinister dark stone. He turned and faced the others.

"When we enter, don't eat anything." Kenny said, looking at each of them in turn.

"Is there food inside?" Clyde said hopefully, a large growl from his stomach emphasizing the question.

"Don't eat anything." Kenny repeated. "Not a bite."

The other boys agreed grudgingly and Kenny turned back to the door, running his fingers over the intricate carvings. His hand lingered on a pomegranate, carved with such delicacy that it looked edible. He applied light pressure and the door clicked and swung open.

Tweek followed Kenny inside and blinked, his eyes widening. A slim, pale girl that looked to be his own age sat on a wooden throne twined with delicate apple blossoms. Her pale golden curls were pulled up and held in place with a filigree silver crown. She sat munching a bowl of popcorn, her eyes fixed on a 52 inch plasma screen TV situated on the wall opposite. From the snippets of conversation pulsing from the surround sound, she appeared to be watching a soap opera. He watched as Kenny approached and bowed deeply.

The girl turned as Kenny approached, looking irritated. She then tossed aside her remote and approached the lanky blonde.

"Kenny!" she exclaimed in a voice that was painful in its sweetness and resonance.

"Persephone." Kenny smiled and patted her back as she hugged him. "How have you been?"

"The same as always." The girl said with a shrug. "It's been a while. You're very tall." She peered around him. "You brought friends!" Persephone stepped around Kenny and greeted each of the boys in turn.

"Christophe Moliere." She pecked the Frenchman on the cheek by way of greeting, ignoring his look of surprise as she called him by name without introduction.

Persephone stood in front of Clyde, taking in his relative nakedness and giving him an approving smile. "Clyde Donovan." She walked around him, examining him closely. "Very nice."

Tweek smiled hesitantly as the strange girl approached him and let out a small squeak as she hugged him tightly. She smelled like the breeze that stirred the blossoming trees in spring. Her blonde curls were like Ella's.

"Tobin Tweak." Persephone gave him an extra squeeze before releasing him. "Stay a while." She addressed all of them, and then gestured to a table that appeared behind them where the door had been.

Tweek turned and saw more food in one place that he'd ever seen in his life. Mounds of glistening fruit spilled over bowls, towers of cakes were piled atop one another, an enormous platter of tacos was displayed prominently and best of all – large steaming lattes sat in orderly rows, like soldiers. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Clyde surge towards the table, only to be caught by Christophe and yanked back.

"No thank you." Kenny broke the spell and turned to Persephone. "We came to seek an audience with you."

Persephone blinked. "You mean like – officially?" She asked, resuming her perch on her throne. "Proceed then."

Kenny stepped forward and cleared his throat. "I want to return to the world of the living. And I want to bring them with me."

Persephone shook her head. "No. Nobody leaves this place. You know that." She held up a slim hand. "You're one of the rare exceptions Kenny. You know the rules." She addressed the three boys standing behind Kenny. "I'm sorry."

Tweek felt his eyes sting and looked over at Clyde, who was sniffing. Christophe stood like a stone, staring at the young queen.

Kenny suppressed the urge to scream. He cleared his throat and started again. "Persephone. I know it is within your power to do this. He dug in his shirt pocket and produced the picture of Ella. "This girl is suffering as we speak. She aches at the loss of her brother." He gestured towards Tweek.

Persephone examined the picture with an odd expression and then handed it back to Kenny. "I'm sorry. I did do what you ask of me now once, a very long time ago." She sighed. "But he ignored my instructions, and it didn't end well." She shrugged, turning her eyes back to the television.

"Oh for fuck's sake!" Christophe pushed past Kenny and stood in front of the young queen, blocking her view of the TV. "Zis is reediculous! Why you can't help? Huh? You think dat Satan gives a sheet?!" he stomped a booted foot in outrage. "He 'as gay married some asshole! He doesn't love you, you silly beetch! Look at zis!" He flailed his arm wildly, indicating the room. "Look where he 'as put you!" Christophe ran a hand through his thick brown hair, standing it on end. "He stole you from your mozzer so long ago, and now you're going to sit here and allow his bastard stepchild to take zis boy-" Christophe gestured towards Tweek with his shovel "-away from his mozzer, his seester!" The Frenchman moved closer, his face contorted with fury. "You fucking beetch! You 'eartless we-"

Persephone stood swiftly and cut off Christophe in mid-sentence with a forceful, almost violent, kiss.

Christophe's face struggled to remain outraged, but as Persephone's kiss became more insistent he faltered and succumbed to her passionate embrace.

Kenny looked away, embarrassed, as the shared kiss intensified. He saw Tweek taking a sudden interest in his feet and frowned as Clyde inched towards the tacos.

Persephone came up for air at last and nodded to Kenny. She attempted to extricate herself from Christophe's arms. After a few more kisses and a heated exchange in French, she succeeded. She beckoned and Kenny followed.

Tweek watched, awestruck, as Christophe came to stand beside him looking enormously pleased with himself. Kenny and Persephone conversed for a few minutes and then she placed something in his hands.

Kenny rejoined the group. "Follow me. Whatever you do, after we leave this place – don't look back until we've reached the surface." The others agreed without protest and Kenny turned back to Persephone who gestured toward a newly appeared archway. Kenny squeezed her hand and then stepped through.

Tweek followed next and gave her a little bow, which she returned with a curtsey. Clyde imitated this and swore he felt her checking him out again as he followed Tweek.

Christophe paused by the arch, a bit flustered. "Well.. I guess zis is goodbye."

"For now." Persephone said. "But I'll see you again in twenty one years."

Christophe nodded as if this made sense, and then his brown eyes widened. "How…?" he asked.

"Covert operation in Tunisia." She said with a faint smile.

"Twenty-one years?" he said, kissing her hand.

"For you, it's a long time – for me, it's tomorrow." She replied, ruffling his hair. "Go catch up, before I change my mind."

*

The journey to the world of the living proved less arduous, but was not without incident. The encounter with Cerberus, the three-headed hellhound, while terrifying at the time, provided ample amusement after the four boys were safely on their way again. Kenny had forgotten about Christophe's intense hatred of guard dogs. This, combined with his repeated cries of "Sheet!", only served to anger Cerberus, who hated intruders, even further. Disaster was narrowly averted thanks to Clyde who found a rather large stick and flung it as far as he could. The massive slavering beast chased it like a puppy, allowing the distraught party to pass into the cave beyond without incident.

After a couple hours climb, his eyes fixed ahead of him, Kenny stepped out into the frosty night air and blinked. They were back, at last, in South Park.

"There's a hidden entrance to Hell in the True Value parking lot?" Clyde said, shivering in the frigid December air.

"I had no idea…" Kenny said and then turned to the three boys standing next to him. "Um…"

Christophe was the first to come forward. He shook Kenny's hand and clapped him on the back. "Merci beaucoup. Any time you need Ze Mole, you only 'ave to ask." He holstered his shovel, nodded at the others and disappeared into the night.

Clyde nodded at Kenny. "Thanks dude. I'll see you at school. We'll get some tacos sometime." He too departed, shivering in his underwear. Fortunately, his house was a mere block from the True Value.

Tweek watched Clyde go and then looked at Kenny. He wanted to tell him how grateful he was, but couldn't find the words.

Kenny looked at the slight boy, still clad in the pajamas he died in, feet bare. Tweek would have a long walk.

"Come on then." Kenny said, turning his back to Tweek and crouching. "Climb on. You'll get frostbite if you walk all that way. That would suck, considering what we've been through to get you back here."

Tweek hesitated, but then climbed on Kenny's back, winding his arms around the taller boy's neck.

Kenny stood, surprised at how light Tweek was. He was pretty sure his schoolbag weighed more. He carried the smaller boy in silence through the quiet streets. He caught glimpses of flickering televisions in cozy living rooms as he passed house after house. Terrance and Philip were on, which would make it about 10 o'clock. He stopped outside the Tweak house. The living room window glowed, and though the curtains were partially closed, Kenny caught a glimpse of a despondent looking Ella seated between her parents on the couch.

Tweek slid off Kenny's back and looked up at the taller boy.

"Thanks Kenny." He said simply and headed up the walk to his house and slipped in the front door.

Kenny watched him go, and then broke into a smile as he heard a chorus of screams within, Ella's rising above them all. He turned to go, and then stopped and looked up at Ella's bedroom window. He retrieved the picture of Tweek from his wallet and hoisted himself into the oak tree on the front lawn.

*

It was well past 2 a.m. when Ella finally said goodnight to her brother and headed to bed. Though tired, her step was so light. Her heart brimmed with gratitude and she was determined to find a way to thank Kenny McCormick. She tossed her blue robe over a chair and pulled back her covers. Lying on the pillow was the picture of Tweek she'd taken on the family vacation to the Grand Canyon last summer. Underneath it was her open bible, a verse from the Song of Solomon circled in red.

_Like a lily among thorns is my darling among the maidens._

*

**Whew. I find myself apologizing more and more for the length of my chapters. Sorry guys! There's so much junk in this chappy, I can't even remember all the references at this point. **

**The bible verse above is from the Song of Solomon 2:2. That entire chapter is pretty freakin sweet. Anyway. Lily among thorns = "lilium inter spinas" in Latin. **

**Clyde being referred to as "the fat kid" amongst the four is taken from the episode "Cartman's Silly Hate Crime" where he's referred to as the 'second fattest kid in class'. He looks pretty normal to me.. so I reckon he's actually just big boned for real. **

**So we're back to life in South Park. Future content to include Nico, Satan's Big Gay Husband, OC goodness and a return to the more er… romantic part of the story. **

**Thanks for putting up with my randomness. ^.^**


	15. Killjoy Craig

**South Park © T. Parker and M. Stone. Ella Tweak belongs to me.**

**Other Grapelicious OCs appearing in this chapter:**

**Lucy Montgomery: created by Kootie Bomb**

**I needed a break from srz bznz, so I wrote a little, mindless f-f-f-f-flashback. **

**Just cos. Back to the main event next chapter. ^.^**

*

Stark's Pond – Summer Before 7th grade.

"Looks like a rabbit." Ella Tweak pointed up at a passing cloud.

Craig Tucker lay sprawled in the grass next to her. His frayed cutoffs were damp from swimming, his skin browned from a long idle summer.

"It looks like a cloud." He said.

Ella rolled over and looked at him, her damp blonde curls sticking to her face. Craig would be starting junior high in a matter of weeks, and Ella wondered if it would change him at all. He'd always treated her like a little kid, but now that she'd be left behind at South Park Elementary, she felt like one. She clucked her tongue at him and flopped on her back again.

"That one looks like a bear." She pointed.

"Fat cloud." Craig said.

"That one looks like last year's Miss November, to me."

Ella twisted her head around and looked up at a grinning Kenny McCormick, his cutoffs even more sun-bleached and frayed than Craig's. She reached out and play-swatted his leg.

Kenny staggered, feigning grave injury and flopped to the ground next to Ella, who gave him another little shove.

"So can anyone play, or is this some kind of exercise meant to foster Craig's stunted imagination?" Kenny asked and got Craig's favorite finger in return.

"As long as you don't answer 'It's a cloud', you're invited." Ella replied, turning her attention back to the sky.

"Hey guys!" came a voice from somewhere behind them. A few seconds later Lucy Montgomery joined them, dressed for a dip in the pond in a black swimsuit and shorts. She sprawled out next to Craig. "Like your suit, Ella."

Ella looked down at her bright blue swimsuit, suddenly feeling childish next to Lucy, whose body looked as though it were abandoning girlhood as fast as it could. She smiled.

"Thanks. We're just cloud gazing." Ella pointed skyward.

Lucy looked up and squinted. "That one looks like a horse."

"Yeah." Kenny agreed.

"Long cloud." Craig said, suddenly very aware of the dark haired girl next to him.

"That's it, I need a break from Killjoy Craig." Ella said, standing. Kenny stood with her.

"Race you." He said, taking off for the water before Ella could agree.

"Ah! Cheater!" Ella ran after him and hit the pond with a splash.

Craig watched Ella run madly towards the water, trailing Kenny McCormick. At that moment, he would have been perfectly content to smother her for leaving him alone with Lucy Montgomery.

"Relax Craig. I know you have the social skills of a turnip." Lucy said with a huge grin. "No pressure." She stood and headed for the pond, stripping off her shorts as she went.

Craig watched her, his perpetual frown exchanged for an openmouthed stare. His middle finger twitched, but as he watched her walk, the lightness of her step and the gleam of her dark hair in the summer sun somehow robbed him of the power to raise it.

"Goddammit."

*

**Hehe. It's like, when Craig first noticed Lucy with a capital "N". Yeah. Needed to write something relatively innocuous. Back to the story next chapter, I swears. **

**GAH! Sweet Jesus! O.o **


	16. Pawns in Place

**South Park © T. Parker and M. Stone. Ella Tweak belongs to me.**

**Other superlative OCs appearing in this chapter:**

**Lucy Montgomery: created by Kootie Bomb**

**Vivi Sykes: created by PiScEs-BlOsSoM69**

"**Damien's Girls" return in the next chapter with the AntiChrist and his wicked stepsister. We'll also greet a new OC along with Satan's new husband and we'll kick off the holidays in the usual train-wreck South Park style. Woo!**

**I have to confess, the only purpose of this chapter is to get my pawns in place. Shameless plot advancement ftw.**

*

South Park High – Friday, 11:15 a.m.

"Gnnh! GAH!"

"Hold still." Ella commanded, struggling to re-button her brother's shirt.

"Oh God!" Tweek twitched. "Sh-she'll probably say no. ACK!"

Ella fastened the last button and straightened his collar. His hair was pretty much a lost cause. Her parents had wasted no time in pumping Tweek full of coffee after his harrowing ordeal. He went from a pleasant and thoughtful boy to a rambling, twitching mess within the space of twelve hours. She turned to Craig, who leaned against Tweek's locker, watching impassively.

"Daisy." She held out her hand and took the flower Craig handed her, then passed it to Tweek. "Just ask. Maybe she'll say yes."

"Ngh!" Tweek hunched his shoulders. "Maybe she'll say no! Too much pre-" he stopped as Ella clamped a hand over his mouth.

"I'd say no." Craig said.

"Shut up Craig!" Ella snapped and took her hand away from Tweek's mouth. "If you don't ask, you'll never know. She's right over there at her locker. Go on." Ella gave him a shove down the hall, smiling reassuringly as Tweek glanced over his shoulder. When he turned away, she kicked Craig in the shin. "Why do I talk to you again? Remind me!"

"I put the 'a' in 'adorable'." Craig said gravely.

"And 'asshole'." Ella muttered, opening her locker and rifling through it, producing a folded brown hoodie. "See you at lunch. I'm going to make sure Tweek comes out the other side of this okay." She watched Craig nod and walk off, tapping away on his phone. Ella waited until he turned the corner and then headed in the opposite direction down the hallway.

*

Tweek clutched the daisy, his hand trembling. Vivi Sykes was digging through her locker, her red hair pulled back in a spiky bun. He cleared his throat nervously.

"V-V-Vivi?" he whispered hoarsely. _Dammit. I sound like Jimmy Vulmer._

"Yes Jimmy?" Vivi asked without turning around, still rummaging.

"ACK!" Tweek coughed and twitched, the daisy wobbling in his trembling hand.

Vivi turned, a lollipop stick tucked in the corner of her mouth.

"Oh! Tweek! I'm so sorry." Vivi smiled apologetically around her lollipop. Her big blue-green eyes drifted down to the daisy. _Wait… what?_

"Ngh!" Twitch, twitch. "S'ok." Tweek's pale green eyes raced from her face, to her hands, to the lollipop, and finally settled on her nose. He held out the daisy, which quivered in his shaking hand. "D-d-do yo- GAH!"

Vivi took the daisy and tucked it in her bun. Most people didn't have the time or patience for Tweek, but she found something about his nervousness disarming, even cute. She smiled encouragingly.

Tweek's cheeks turned bright pink under her smile. "Sweet Jesus!" He crammed his trembling hands in his pants pockets and took a deep breath."Areyougoingtothewintercarnivalthisweekendanddoyouwanttogowithme?" His nose twitched slightly.

Vivi blinked and slowly worked out what had been said. The South Park Winter Carnival was the official kick-off of the Christmas season. There were rides, food, games, carolers and a variety of other events. It was a place to be seen, and to hook up if you were single. A kiss under the world's largest mistletoe wreath was a Winter Carnival tradition. The tradition hadn't even died when Kenny McCormick had been crushed by the wreath two years ago trying to set a record for number of girls kissed beneath it. Vivi had thought Stan might ask her, but as the days went by Stan talked obsessively about the upcoming game against Denver and little else. It's not like they were going together or anything. He hadn't even kissed her – but she'd thought things were moving that way. Still, as she looked at Tweek's earnest, twitching face, she felt her stomach flip.

"Mais oui, Tweek." She responded, her accent slipping through with a blush. "Yes. Sounds good – meet me there at six o'clock?"

Tweek stared at her, one eye twitching, and then broke into an enormous, endearing grin. "Oh GOD! –Ack!" another deep breath. "Six. Got it." With that, he turned suddenly and walked away, twitching a bit less as he went.

*

"I'm telling you." Token said, in between bites of pizza. "Bebe's got a nice rack."

Kyle shrugged. "You can tell that with her shirt on."

"Yeah, seriously dude. Tell us something we don't know." Stan replied, polishing off the first of four cartons of milk.

Token leaned across the table and whispered something.

Kyle's green eyes widened. "Where?!" His eyes grew wider still as Token whispered the answer.

Stan raised his eyebrows, intrigued. "Still dude. Bebe's kind of annoying. I don't know if I could put up with that, even to get a look."

Token shrugged. "Yeah. She never shuts up – but the view is spectacular. Bebe's the whole package gentlemen."

Stan opened another carton. "Yeah, she's doable - but if you take her part by part, there's always some chick that's better."

"Yeah. Lucy Montgomery has nicer legs." Kyle put in.

Token snorted, but Stan nodded in agreement. "Yeah, and Vivi Sykes has the most amazing eyes. Wendy has nicer hair."

"There are plenty of girls who have a nice rack too, Token." Kyle said. "Red is prettier overall, and Ella's got a hot a-"

"Do you guys know why you can never keep a girlfriend longer than three months?"

The three boys looked up and found Craig Tucker standing at the end of the table, his face impassive.

"It's because you talk about girls like they're cars, or animals, or objects." Craig said. "Does it ever occur to you that this makes you sound like Neanderthals? No. No it doesn't." Craig continued. "Because you guys are jerks. And that's why you can't keep a girlfriend longer than three months." He turned and walked to the next table and sat down, fussily arranging the silverware on his lunch tray.

"That dude is such an asshole." Stan said finally.

*

Lucy Montgomery, seated at a nearby table, witnessed the entire exchange with amusement. She picked up her tray and moved over to Craig's table and set it down, filled with a bit of admiration for his little speech.

"Hey Cwaigles!" she said cheerfully.

Craig gave a stoic grunt and concentrated on cutting his pizza slice into perfectly even pieces.

Lucy shook her head. "Pizza is one of many foods you can eat with your hands Craig." She picked up her own slice and demonstrated, pulling the cheese out in a long string.

"Nope." Craig said, spearing a piece with his fork and chewing thoroughly. He concentrated on his plate, but underneath the table he bounced his knee nervously. He listened to Lucy chat idly about classes, teachers, and who was taking who to the Winter Carnival. When she focused on her food, he watched her. Her bangs were insanely purple, exactly matching her suspenders. He still wasn't sure what to make of her. Nothing about her was right, but everything was. "Who are you going with?" he asked, careful to keep his voice neutral.

Lucy shrugged and took a sip of juice. "I thought I'd round up some of the girls and we'd all go together, then we could see whoever we wanted when we got there. No pressure." She paused, watching his long fingers curl around his fork. "What about you Craigasaurus?"

"Eh." Craig said, striving for an indifferent tone. "I might not go this year."

"Of course not, granddad." Lucy reached across and patted his hand. "You stay home with your nice cup of cocoa. The carnival might be a bit much for you."

Craig poked her hand with his fork. "What I meant was, Bebe's obviously going with Token. Who's left to ask?" he said, raising a single eyebrow.

"Bebe?" Lucy made a face. "Bebe?!?!" she repeated and then caught a whisper of a smile tugging at Craig's thin lips. "Asshole."

"Bitch." He said contentedly and speared another piece of pizza.

*

Ella darted through the quad, dodging giggling girls and rowdy football players as she went. The temperature was a relatively balmy 20 degrees, and several students were taking their lunch out of doors. She jogged over to the labyrinth of buildings behind the metal shop, leaned against a wall and waited. She tucked her hands in the pockets of her powder blue coat and watched her breath._ He'll either show for a smoke, or I'll spend another lunch with Towelie. _

Ella saw shadows moving on the wall opposite and held her breath momentarily, exhaling as the goths rounded the corner, Henrietta glaring daggers. Ella made a face in return and gave her the Craig Tucker salute. She held her finger up even as they turned their backs and walked away.

"Shocking." A thin hand reached around her and folded her middle finger down.

"Ahhh!" Ella yelped and turned around to find a smirking Kenny McCormick leaning against the wall behind her, sans jacket. She swatted his arm. "Don't do that!"

Kenny pushed the hair off his forehead, a patch still covered his left eye. "I can't promise anything. Looks like you get up to all kinds of things when you think nobody's watching."

"Not really. It's Henrietta…" Ella waved her hand. "Nevermind." She pulled his hoodie out of her bag and held it up to him. "You'll need this."

Kenny took his ratty brown hoodie out of her hands and unzipped it. The inside was newly lined with thick brown flannel, the frayed cuffs repaired. His chest tightened as he slipped his arms into the sleeves and zipped it up. It smelled like spring. He impulsively reached out and touched her cheek.

"Go to the carnival with me this weekend El. Please?" he said, with uncharacteristic gravity.

Ella froze at the brief touch of his fingers. "Grounded." She said. "Til Christmas Eve."

Kenny made an exasperated noise and fished a smoke out of his bag. "Girl, you're grounded more than Butters." He lit his cigarette and took a jerky, irritated drag.

"I know." Ella said. "I wonder if the Stotches would adopt me."

"Christmas Eve? Whatdja do?"

"Got a D+ on an algebra test." Ella shrugged. "I'll be grounded until February if I can't write a decent paper for English."

Kenny closed his eyes briefly. "Your dad used to be cool."

"Now he only looks like an aging liberal hippie douche. He's actually an aging neo-nazi, crypto-fascist douche." Ella jumped as the fourth period bell rang.

Kenny pitched his smoke. "Go on. Your dad will probably disown you if you're late." He said, feeling sulky.

Ella nodded, turned to leave and then turned back. She stood on tiptoe and brushed her lips lightly, quickly, against his cheek. "I would've said yes."

Kenny watched her go, her curls jouncing. He leaned back against the wall, his cheeks burning, heart hammering against his ribs, and lit another smoke.

*

**Yay! Meaningless rambling, plot advancing, character manipulating randomness. Whee! **

**I effing love writing Craig Tucker. **

**Bear with me. There's a point to this, I swear. **


	17. The Movement of Fear

**South Park © T. Parker and M. Stone. Ella Tweak, Nico and Lilith belong to me.**

**Other cherry Chapstick-flavored OCs appearing in this chapter:**

**Lucy Montgomery: created by Kootie Bomb**

**Vivi Sykes: created by PiScEs-BlOsSoM69**

**Amy McCormick: created by ZombiesOnYourLawn**

**Sarah Murphy: created by Sorrowsnow**

**Lucky Day: created by Doomed-Orange-Parka**

**Whew. Okay. I already know this is going to be a big ol' fatty-boombalatty chapter from hell. This particular 'book' is almost done actually.. so apologies in advance for all the junk in this chappy. **

**1. Craig's screenname would totally be "Craig". I swearz. **

**2. Ella's spelling mistakes are hers, not mine. She's not the best student. ^.^**

*

15:13 ******* You are connected to **#SPHighRocks*****

*****EllaBella joined ****#SPHighRocks**

**LuceLips45:** Ellie!

**ViviLaFrance:** Still a prisoner?

**EllaBella: **dad out of twon 4 Harbuks. mom enforsing my sentense.

**Craig:** Spell check is nice.

**LuceLips45:** Craiglet determined to be helpful, as usual.

_**Craig gives LuceLips45 the finger.**_

**ViviLaFrance:** Hmm. I could always play the mom card.

**BlameAmy:** mom card?

**ViviLaFrance:** Yeah. I'll have my mom call Ella's and invite her to the carnival, sleepover… blah… blah… it always works. brb.

**EllaBella:** dunnoz. it might.

*****McLovin joined ****#SPHighRocks**

**BlameAmy:** god kenny. new screenname plz.

**McLovin:** it's apt, Amy. very apt.

**McLovin:** hey ladies! XD … and Craig, Kyle and Cartman.

_**Craig gives McLovin the finger.**_

**ChallahCool:** hey Kenny. you left your science book here.

**AWESOM-O:** fuck u Kenny.

**ViviLaFrance: **back! mom called yours Ella… sounded good to me.

**EllaBella:** yep. she said I cuold go.

**LuceLips45:** yesssss! together we shall be legendary!

**Craig:** oh god.

**ViviLaFrance:** meet me at Ella's, Luce. we'll get ready there and then back to mine afterwards. later guys!

*****ViviLaFrance has left ****#SPHighRocks**

_**LuceLips45 pinches Craig's cheek.**_

**LuceLips45:** BAMF!

*****LuceLips45 has left ****#SPHighRocks**

**BlameAmy:** …and i've got a thrilling four hours at Harbucks. catch up with you at the carnival.

*****BlameAmy has left ****#SPHighRocks**

Ella twisted a curl around her fingers. Vivi was pretty clever, she had to admit. Her hands moved to type a goodbye when she noticed the PM window flashing 'McLovin'. She moused over and clicked on the window.

*****You are now in private chat with McLovin.**

**McLovin: ** damn girl, don't you ever check your email?

**EllaBella:** nope :P

**McLovin:** make an exception.

Ella sighed and a few mouse clicks later was browsing her inbox. She found Kenny's email and opened it.

To: EllaT

From: KennyM

Re: Grrrrreat Expectations

Attachment: A+ paper! view/download

_El – Before you say it, I know it's cheating. If you don't use this, you'll probably get grounded until the end of time. I'm not having it. Next time, I'll help you write your own._

_xOx_

_Ken_

Ella opened the attachment and skimmed the paper. It looked way better than the two pages she'd struggled all week to write. She minimized the email and resumed chatting.

**EllaBella:** it's soooo cheeting Kenny.

**McLovin:** just use it El. if you get grounded again, I'll put my other eye out.

**EllaBella:** mrs. parker wil know its not mien

**McLovin: ** go through and misspell every third word. XD

**EllaBella:** funny. herrr! why Kenny? i allredy had it writen.

**McLovin:** because, cupcake, I'm a very selfish boy.

**EllaBella:** vivi and lucy here, bbl!

*****EllaBella has left ****#SPHighRocks**

*

_Your eyes flash bright  
but no longer have fire  
everywhere you turn  
this world is your shadow  
with a pretty face  
you burn so many eyes  
this is the movement of fear_

_- The Movement of Fear, Tones on Tail_

Damien's ruby-black eyes shone in the firelight. He flicked a hand and the flames rose higher. _Nico can't have gone far. He has to be in South Park somewhere, but it's been ten days and nothing._ The jacket Lilith found at the Tweak house was the only thing to suggest Nico had been there at all.

The growing dark pressed around the woods near Stark's Pond. Damien unzipped the duffel bag and extracted the dark gray hoodie. His long, sharp nails curled into the fabric as he tried to shake the numbness flooding his mind. With a shuddering breath, he tossed the jacket in the midst of the fire and stepped back as the flames roared, shifting from orange to green. A sudden furnace-blast stung his eyes and his nose burned with the stench of sulfur.

"Are you well pleased, _brother_?"

Damien turned and found his quarry at last, pale and perfect as the sunlight died. It seemed as though Nico had grown taller. His black eyes glittered like jewels. His dark hair eddied around his shoulders in the soft breeze.

"Are you out of your _fucking_ mind?!" Damien hissed. "You've no right!"

"Shut up Damien." Nico said coolly. "You're a pest."

Damien blinked in shock, then growled. "You're in deep shit."

"No. I don't think so." Nico watched impassively as the remnants of the gray hoodie smoldered in the flames.

"Look, dickhead, you're just an ifrit. It's not for you to take the lives of mortals. You don't even have clearance for inter-dimensional travel for fuck's sake!" Damien went on. "There's a clear hierarchy and you know it!"

"A hierarchy which I have single-handedly rendered irrelevant." Nico said, amused. "I had my eye on this place for months before I came here."

"South Park? Who gives a shit about this stupid, redneck, white trash, peckerwood mountain town?"

"Everyone – or haven't you noticed?" Nico said. "When I came here, I came looking for something and those two children found me. I thought initially to use the boy, but his sister proved to be much more malleable. She'd actually seen the book and, if not for a few unfortunate events, she would have delivered it to me by now."

"What book?!" Damien snapped.

"The Necronomicon, of course." Nico said coolly. "What? You didn't know it was here? Are you sure you're the son of Satan?" Nico held up his hand at Damien's shocked expression. "The jacket was a genius touch, and it kept her well under my control. Until the day of her brother's funeral, that is."

"What are you on about?"

"Her mother helped her dress, and gave her that black rosary." Nico hissed. "I couldn't bear to go near her. When she came to bed that afternoon, it was still in her hand, and every night after." He rubbed his pale forehead. "And then the Immortal gave her his _fucking jacket_." Nico gave him an eerie sharp-toothed smile. "But she's returned it now and the rosary sits in her desk drawer, forgotten."

"That's enough." Damien said, running his fingers though his hair irritably. "Now go home. When dad gets back, he'll figure out what to do with you."

"Oh no. You don't get to tell me what to do ever again. I'm not done here, and you will NOT interfere." Nico flicked his fingers as Damien lunged for him.

Damien could feel his legs growing cold. He looked down, his eyes widening in disbelief as thick ice encased his feet and crept up his legs.

"Nico! You've completely flipped it! Dad is going to kill you!" Damien struggled and shivered as the ice advanced over his waist and flowed around his shoulders. A breath later, he could feel nothing but paralyzing cold.

*

"Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeem!" Eric Cartman squealed, although the whine had lost some of its effect after his voice cracked at age twelve.

"What is it hun?" Liane Cartman called from downstairs.

"Meeeeeeeeem! Luckeh's only been back for like, an hour and she won't get out of the bathroom!" Cartman banged on the door.

"I'm drying my hair you toad!" Lucky Day shouted through the door. Lucky had been home three hours, to be exact – just in time for the Winter Carnival. She'd spent the last year and half studying at Swotley Preparatory School in Connecticut on an academic scholarship and hated every minute of it. The food was atrocious, her fellow students snotty and the entire experience lonely and frustrating. She had been so grateful when she called her dad to tell him she wanted to come home, and he'd not made a big deal out of it. He sent her a ticket and picked her up at the airport, no questions asked. Now, as she put the finishing touches on her freshly bleached bangs, she dimly recalled why she'd been so eager to leave. Eric Cartman was still a complete chode.

"Meeeeeeeeeem!"

"All right!" Lucky opened the door suddenly, hitting Cartman's forehead with a satisfying 'klonk!'.

"AY! Ho!"

"'Scuse me, mein fatass." Lucky pushed past him and bounced down the stairs two at a time. _ Not that he's really fat anymore, now that he's gone full-jock. _ She paused at the hall closet and pulled out her well-loved fatigue jacket.

"Lucky? Where you off to?" her dad, Jason, called from the living room. He and Liane appeared at the door, arms entwined. Lucky was still weirded out by their relationship, but she had to admit it seemed to be working.

"Carnival dad. Meeting up with Vivi, Luce and Ella. Need updates on all the behavioral deviances that have transpired in my absence." Lucky said, airing out her vocab.

"Meeeem?" Cartman said sweetly. "I was thinking. Wouldn't it be super awesome if we all went together, as a family?" He blinked up at Liane, his blue eyes wide.

Lucky narrowed her eyes. "Actually I already told-"

"You know, that's a great idea Eric!" Jason piped up and smiled adoringly at Liane as she nodded.

"Oh, my poopsiekins is such a thoughtful boy." Liane gave Cartman a big squeeze and he grinned at Lucky over her shoulder.

_I wonder if it's too late to go back to Connecticut…_

*

"Text from Lucks, she's stuck waiting for the fam." Lucy said, closing her phone with a snap, and resuming duty at Ella's sewing machine.

Vivi checked her phone, trying not to move as Ella swept some subtle shadow over her eyes with an artist's hand.

"Tweek says the boys have left Craig's house and are on their way downtown." She opened her mouth as Ella switched to her lips, applying a light layer of gloss.

"We don't have time for that skirt Lucy." Ella said, concentrating on her living masterpiece. "Vivi is supposed to meet Tweek in twenty minutes."

"Yeah. We do. Your theme tonight, Ella, is "angel" and I'm hemming the crap out of this skirt. Don't mess with my vision."

Lucy's theme seemed to be 'peppermint'. She wore a short black dress with red and white striped tights, red sidebangs and a long peppermint-striped scarf. Ella had no idea where she found the time to concoct these ensembles, but Lucy always looked completely put together and very nice indeed. _Craig will have a stroke when he gets an eyeful of the striped tights._

Vivi's clothes looked positively subdued beside Lucy's, but she looked no less fetching in her black jeans and striped sweater. Her dark green scarf exactly matched her top, and her red-violet hair brushed her shoulders, gleaming in the lamplight.

Ella stepped back and eyed the makeup critically and nodded. Subtle and cute. _Not that Tweek pays attention…_ "You're done."

Lucy stood and handed Ella the finished white skirt. "You have ten minutes, and don't mess up your hair." She pointed to Ella's elaborate updo in which Lucy had tucked a bit of gold tinsel for a halo effect. Ella retreated to the bathroom muttering.

"Oh my God! Lucy!" Ella wailed from the bathroom. "My skirt! Half of it's missing!" She returned to the room slowly, hand on her forehead.

Lucy clapped. "Nope. It's perfect!" She walked around Ella. The newly hemmed skirt rested at mid-thigh, but with white tights and a white bell-sleeved sweater, the effect was still fairly modest.

Ella pulled on her white boots and tugged at the hem nervously. "So embarrassing."

Phones and purses were collected and the girls trooped out of the house, giggling and shoving as they made their way downtown. They caught up with the Day-Cartmans just as they reached Main Street. The girls greeted Lucky like a long-lost sister, somehow managing to shout, laugh, hug and trip all at the same time. Jason Day gave Lucky a nod that said it was all right to take off and the four girls skipped madly towards a huge knot of people mingling under a canopy of Christmas lights.

*

Lilith and Sarah Murphy walked quickly toward Stark's Pond, hands tucked in pockets and shivering against the cold. They were both late. Damien had specifically stated he'd be there at 5:30 and it was now closer to 6. Lilith, gleeful in a somber black parka, didn't look the least bit concerned.

"I told you Sarah, I'll manage Damien. He won't be mad." Lilith said, skipping a little.

Sarah wasn't entirely sure, as she was often the target of Damien's changeable mood. They would have been on time, if Lilith hadn't been so distracted by the carnival preparations. She felt a bit sorry for the girl who, until very recently, had spent her entire life in Hell. Still, if Damien was in a mood – something would burn.

"Look." Lilith pointed with a black gloved hand. "There he is." She waved enthusiastically. "Hey D!"

Sarah frowned as they neared Damien. He wasn't shouting. He wasn't greeting them. He wasn't… moving.

"Woah!" Lilith shouted, reaching him first. "Sarah! Help!"

Sarah jogged the rest of the way and gasped, clapping mittened hand over her mouth. "Oh!"

Damien stood, his face twisted in a frightful combination of fury and surprise, completely frozen. A thick crust of ice clung to his body, a frosty prison.

Lilith tapped him with her knuckle, and let out a wail of dismay at the dull knocking sound. "Sarah, you have to stay here with him. I need to get my dad – dads – right now!" she said, snapping her fingers and disappearing in a pulse of green light before Sarah could reply.

Sarah reached up and touched Damien's cheek, sniffling a bit over the absence of his typical, unnatural heat.

*

"Welcome to Harbucks, would you like to try our super-skinny, ultra-turbo, double-whip, white chocolate cinnamon mocha peppocino?" Amy McCormick said dully, probably for the two hundredth time in the last three hours. She could hear the shouts, rides and music from the carnival downtown. The clock tormented her. _Another 30 minutes._

"Well that sounds just delightful!" a deep voice cooed from somewhere high above her head. "I'll take one."

Amy blinked and looked up.

Satan smiled, his sharp teeth flashing against his ruby skin. "Ash? Ash honey, what are you having?" he called over his shoulder.

Ashmodei stood next to Satan and perched his Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses atop his head. His hair flowed down his neck and formed a black pool at his shoulders. "Large black coffee, please."

Satan tossed a fifty dollar bill on the counter and turned to his husband. "I've been thinking about opening one of these in the third circle. Really stick it to those gluttons." He mused. "So what did Lilith's text say?"

Ashmodei pulled out his iPhone and tapped the screen with a slender pale finger. "Meet South Park Harbux. Urgent." He shrugged. "Could be anything. Lilith's a bit melodramatic."

Amy dawdled over the coffees. As strange as South Park was, Satan never just stopped by for a cup of java. Something had to be up. She handed the strangely beautiful Ashmodei his black coffee and got a smile in return that crept under her skin and warmed her from the inside out.

"I hope it's nothing complicated. I'd like to unpack and take a long nap." Satan said, feeling a bit peevish.

A green pulse of light announced Lilith's arrival, followed by an excited squeal.

"DADDY!" The strange girl leapt at Ashmodai and flung her arms around him.

"Hey Lil." Ashmodei patted her hair, a little embarrassed by her enthusiasm. "Where's your brother?" he asked, as Lilith gave Satan a hesitant hug.

Lilith gave him a black-lipsticked grimace, took a deep breath and started her tale. As the Devil and the demon listened, neither noticed Amy McCormick behind them wiping the counter absently, one ear turned towards the conversation.

"Ugh – now you see?! This is unacceptable Ash. That boy is completely out of control!" Satan said at the end of Lilith's ramble, looking significantly less intimidating with a whipped-cream moustache.

"Yes, all right. I'll handle it." Ashmodei said firmly.

"Ash, we talked about this. In order to be a successful blended family, you'll have to allow me to participate in both the reward and disciplinary process with your children, and vice versa." Satan whined.

Lilith shifted her gaze from one to the other, as though she were an observer at an insane Wimbledon of marital discord. She stamped her feet.

"Damien! Hello? He's at Stark's Pond right now. Nico is… I don't know where! Do something!" Lilith demanded.

Ashmodei sighed and leveled a finger at her nose. "Stay here with…" he squinted at Amy's nametag. "Amy. Do your homework or something. We'll get this sorted, ground your brother, raise the dead – whatever, and then we're going home." He was gone in a whiff of cologne and a flip of black hair, and Satan followed him like a puppy.

Lilith turned slowly and then half-smiled at Amy. "I hate my parents."

"Seriously." Amy agreed, sliding a plate towards her, a pink frosted cupcake in the center.

*

Clyde Donovan had never considered himself a lucky person. Who won Denver Broncos tickets, only to lose them again when his mother put his pants through the wash? Clyde Donovan. Who puked on Dorothy during the second grade production of "The Wizard of Oz"? Clyde Donovan. Whose button went shooting off their pants during 8th grade graduation, immediately followed by the slow humiliating slide of his waistband and exposure of his Terrance and Phillip briefs to the entire assembly? Clyde Donovan.

It was during one of those unfortunate moments that Clyde Donovan became reacquainted with Lucky Day, a girl who he'd often admired, but never had the courage to speak to. Kenny McCormick was doing a merciless impression of Wendy Testaburger haranguing Stan Marsh. Even Craig Tucker twitched his lips once or twice at the uncanny accuracy of Kenny's performance.

Kenny paused. "It's Ducky Lay!"

Clyde turned and, through some unfortunate timing of Coke slurping and laughing over Kenny's 'Wendy' voice, sprayed the front of Lucky's jacket. With Coke. From his nose. He felt his face burning right up to his hairline and grabbed a napkin out of Craig's hand and dabbed futilely at her sleeve.

"So stupid Clyde. Stupid." He repeated, scrubbing her jacket with the limp napkin. "Sorry."

"Clyde?" Lucky said, watching him scrub away, her deep green eyes wide.

"Sorry." More scrubbing.

"Clyde?"

"Stupid." Clyde said, making a mess of the napkin.

"Clyde!" Lucky grabbed his hand mid-scrub. The stained, shredded napkin hung limply from his fingers.

He looked down at her quizzically, shaggy brown bangs nearly obscuring his blue-gray eyes. His chin quivered slightly, anticipating her anger.

"How have you been?" She asked, with an impish smile.

*

Craig Tucker watched the entire Coke fiasco impassively, hands tucked in the pockets of his neatly tailored, precisely buttoned, navy pea coat. _Just another day in the life of Clyde Donovan._ Tweek squeaked beside him as Vivi and Lucy joined Lucky in greeting Clyde. Craig's eyes lingered on Lucy's face as she chatted animatedly with Clyde. His gaze wandered downward in silent approval of the short black dress and then paused on the striped tights, widening briefly. _Jesus._

"Craigzilla!" Lucy waved and darted around Clyde to stand in front of him, her dark eyes reflecting the glittering Christmas lights around them.

"Lucy." Craig said.

"How can you pull that face on a night like this?" Lucy demanded doing a little dance in place. "I'm going to have one of those huge waffles with whipped cream, cheesy onion fries, a giant sno-cone, a-"

"Stomach pump?" Craig offered.

Lucy punched his shoulder playfully. "But first – Bumper cars!"

Craig Tucker swore he heard Token and Bebe laughing as Lucy dragged him off into the festive crowd by his perfectly pressed coat sleeve.

*

Tweek Tweak twitched. Clyde was engrossed in small talk with Lucky, Craig had abandoned him, Bebe and Token were in their own world. He looked over to Kenny for support, only to find him heading for the the church in search of Ella and presumably, the caroling. He gave Vivi a twitchy, uncertain smile.

"Hi-ACK!" Tweek coughed. "Hi Vivi." He said tentatively.

Vivi dimly heard Tweek greeting her, but found herself looking him over in unflattering surprise. Tweek, for once, was neatly put together in chocolate brown corduroy cargos and a fitted brown sweater. The dark clothes made his pale green eyes spark and emphasized the delicacy of his features. Only his crazed hair remained to testify to his usual state. He was almost beautiful in a fragile, nervous sort of way.

Tweek could feel his heart thudding. _What is she looking at? What? The sweater?! Is it dorky? My hair – oh God! I should've – _"Oh sweet Jesus!" Tweek clutched two handfuls of his hair. 'I can't-"

Vivi shook her head and took his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Hi Tweek. Thank you for asking me." To her surprise, the pressure of her hand seemed to soothe him a bit, and he unhunched his shoulders.

"Ngh! Thanks f-for coming, with me I mean." Tweek amended, comforted by the touch of her smooth hand. His nose twitched. He stuffed his other hand in his pants pocket. "We could g-go get something hot to d-drink and listen to the caroling –GAH!" he took a deep breath, his cheeks suffused with pink.

Vivi giggled, it was impossible not to as the poor boy tied himself in knots trying to remain calm. "I'd love to."

Tweek smiled, the twitchiness temporarily banished from his face. His hand trembled in hers as he removed it and offered her a slightly shaky arm.

Vivi looped her arm through his and they walked on together.

*

"Your singing is appalling."

Ella turned and found Kenny McCormick looming over her shoulder. She thwapped him on the head with her carol book.

"No, I mean it." Kenny said, pitching his everpresent cigarette. "There are a few moments when I'm almost sure you'll hit the note, and then you strangle it with that little cricket voice of yours."

"Oh hi Craig, I didn't recognize you under that mop of blonde hair." Ella gave him a little shove. "Jerkface."

"So cute when you're annoyed..." He tweaked her nose, which earned him another thwap. "And a big thanks to whoever convinced you to wear that skirt." He caught her wrist before she could react.

"Blame Lucy."

"She's a goddess, all right. Okay- I'm done. I'll be golden." He held up his hands and then dropped an arm around her shoulder, leaning in to look at the music in her hands. As Father Maxi led them in "O Little Town of Bethlehem", Kenny's baritone rose, warm and polished. He caught Ella looking up at him, openmouthed, out of the corner of his eye. He caught her chin with a thin, pale finger and closed her mouth for her with a wink.

Ella completely forgot to sing and just let Kenny's voice melt around her. The night was clear and cold and she watched the stars dance over the church steeple as he sang, his arm around her shoulders like a shield. As the song faded, she turned to look up at him and then froze.

A wave of heat overtook her, as though someone had opened a furnace. An acrid smell crept into her nose, down her throat and she closed her eyes and shuddered.

"Nico."

*

**Yeah. O.o That chapter was just way too long. Seriously. I'm sorry guize. There's probably another chapter – maybe two – and an epilogue and then the end of this particular episode. The sequel is already percolating in my brain. **

**The Movement of Fear © Tones on Tail**

**I'm too effin lazy to edit. ^.^ Apologizes for any atrocious spelling, grammar or other lazy hippie mistakes. **


	18. The Hand of the Devout

**South Park © T. Parker and M. Stone. Ella Tweak, Lilith, Nico and Ashmodei belong to me. **

**Cheesy Poofs appearing in this chapter: **

**Lucy Montgomery: created by Kootie Bomb**

**Vivi Sykes: created by PiScEs-BlOsSoM69**

**Amy McCormick: created by ZombiesOnYourLawn**

**Sarah Murphy: created by Sorrowsnow**

**Lucky Day: created by Doomed-Orange-Parka  
**

**Sorry for the delay in updating. This week was pretty bizarre.**

**  
Hah! I had this chapter almost completely written, then decided to re-write it so I could play with first person perspective rather than trying to describe everything that happened play-by-play.**

**It's an experiment! It might fail! Yay! Anyway, here are the events as they transpired, brought to you by three separate narrators…**

*

Over the years, I have become somewhat accustomed to the strangeness of South Park. I was born here, I grew up here and, if God hates me, I'll die here too. I learned early on not to hang out with Stan and his friends, and to never give Eric Cartman my birthday money. Despite all of these great life lessons, the complete chaos that surrounds our bizarre corner of the universe still has the power to shock and disgust me.

At this particular juncture, the sight of Big Gay Al in a pleather Santa thong barely registers on my radar of strange. Instead, I feel a small twinge of gratitude that he actually refrained from appearing in the nude. If only Mr. Slave had showed the same restraint…

My current companion, Lucy Montgomery, waved cheerfully at Lucky and Clyde as they returned from the Ferris wheel. While Lucy was certainly far from nice and boring, her wildness was comprehensible, quantifiable. She existed, like Clyde, as an island of sanity, of normality, in the vast sea of madness I was forced to navigate on a daily basis. It didn't hurt that she was cute.

Tweek appeared on my left, his arm still linked with Vivi's. He looked a bit less nervous than usual, save for an occasional twitch of his nose or an involuntary squeak. Vivi chatted amiably and Tweek nodded. I felt Lucy tug on the sleeve of my coat and followed her pointed finger to the sno-cone cart. It was, of course, only ten degrees and I opened my mouth to point out this painfully obvious nugget of wisdom when the ground trembled beneath my feet. A strange orange glow pulsed a few blocks down the street, its source obscured by the crowd of revelers.

"Craig?" Lucy said and looked up at me, perhaps forgetting to mutilate my name in the face of these phenomena. I took her by the shoulders and gave her what I hoped was a stern glare. When I spoke, I looked into her glittering dark eyes, but my voice was for everyone.

"We are NOT going to investigate the spooky glow."

***

I'm a relatively simple guy, despite my _unconventional_ upbringing. I like nice clothes, fast cars, cute girls and good food. I've always found mortals curious creatures, their motives inscrutable, their emotions complex. My own feelings encompassed three basic spheres of experience: anger, lust and amusement. I have, for some time, wondered if this was the limit of my emotional range. Today, my doomed, misguided stepbrother Nico disabused me of this theory and taught me a new way to feel.

I remember their faces as the cold left me. My father: furious. His 'husband': curious. Sarah: sympathetic. As Ashmodei pried the details of my encounter with Nico from me, I felt a strange surge in my chest that reached up into my throat and squeezed. Only later, after extensive discussion with Lilith, would I be able to label this new feeling. Humiliation. From humiliation, a familiar flame was kindled and I barely controlled my fury as I turned to Sarah.

She was simply dressed and her white hoodie glowed in the moonlight. I could just make out her deep brown eyes, set like jewels in the pale oval of her face. I stuffed down my anger as much as my brain would allow before I addressed her.

"Sarah." I flinched at the tightness of my own voice. "I know it's your day off, but would you mind-"

"No Damien. I'll have your bed, and Lilith's, ready when you return." She said, giving my hand a squeeze. I managed to return it without involuntarily pulverizing the bones of her hand.

Sarah could always be counted on and occasionally I dimly wondered if she got tired of looking after me. I'd entertained thoughts of pursuing her, but was explicitly forbidden, given her mortality. I flicked my fingers and a shimmering portal wreathed with flames appeared before us. I didn't even have the heart to give her a parting slap on the backside as she went.

As I ran through the field and the empty side streets of that wretched little town, my mind raced with the possibility of a second confrontation with Nico ending badly for me. Musing aside, the sound of my father's footfalls behind me told me that I would have the advantage this time.

I turned a corner sharply and found myself face-to-face with Lilith. Amy McCormick stood beside her, still wearing her Harbucks uniform complete with tattered Converse.

"Lilith!" Ashmodei barked. "I told you to wait!"

Lilith wailed and was heading for a full blown tantrum when a familiar orange light pulsed across the street, accompanied by a blistering wave of heat.

"What's over there?" I asked aloud. It was Amy who answered.

"The church." She said, her teeth chewing at her full lower lip in what might have been pensiveness or merely curiosity. Her wide heterochromatic eyes reflected the strange glow, and the delicacy of her profile beneath the ridiculous Harbucks visor did not escape my appreciative eye.

My fathers persisted with their sermon on obedience and responsibility, Lilith's protests squashed by the onslaught of parental disapproval. In my zeal to pursue Nico, I left them quite behind, pushing through the crowd until the doors of the church stood before me. I turned, and found Amy standing next to me. I didn't see Nico in the scattering group of carolers at first, but my eyes found Kenny McCormick's, and followed his gaze to my target.

Nico's profile betrayed his rage. One of his sharp-nailed hands was closed around Father Maxi's throat and the other was poised to strike. He seemed to be addressing Ella Tweak, who emerged from the church with her hands behind her back. Kenny looked between the small blonde girl and furious demon, his worry etched on his thin face.

"Give me the book, you stupid girl!" Nico snapped, shaking Father Maxi like a rag doll for emphasis.

I watched as Ella descended the steps, her hands still firmly behind her, her mouth grim below her pointed nose. My eyes widened as she suddenly brought her hands forward and revealed not the Necronomicon, but a silver aspergillum in her right and a large wooden crucifix in the left.

"Oh shit." I heard myself say aloud, but Amy was silent beside me.

Before I could react, Ella swung her right hand in a slashing arc, splattering Nico with holy water, the aspergillum flashing in the moonlight. I flinched instinctively as Nico screamed, his skin on his face blistering and dissolving as he clutched his head.

"Woah. That actually works?" Amy said with faint surprise.

"Articles of faith are only dangerous in the hands of the devout." I shrugged, but knew that holy water wouldn't stay Nico for long.

He thrashed, releasing his grip on Father Maxi who crawled towards the church steps. Nico's raw skin split, revealing a black, almost reptilian form beneath. He lunged blindly, his sharp nails exchanged for the curved talons of his demon form. I watched, somewhat stupefied as one long claw arced towards Ella's chest. It was stayed by Kenny McCormick, who stepped in front of the small girl and caught the slash across his belly. His intestines spilled, and I could see the steam rising as they splattered on the chilled pavement. Kenny cackled and fell backwards, slumping against the steps.

"Idiot." I sighed.

Nico lunged again, but recoiled as Ella stood in front of Father Maxi and the still cackling Kenny, and brandished the crucifix.

I completely forgot myself watching the scene before me and was startled by Amy's cry of fury as she stepped forward and flung her phone at Nico. It bounced off his shoulder and clattered to the sidewalk at his feet.

"Bastard!" she shouted, her usually placid face steely.

_Right... Kenny's her cousin,_ I reminded myself. Still, she ought to be used to his heroic antics and their unfortunate consequences by now.

Nico roared, and while the sound was merely irritating to me, it was unbearable to mortals. I caught a flash of white as Ella dropped to one knee, her hands clapped over her ears. Amy cringed, but seemed less affected than the others.

The black demon turned, and we locked eyes. Without warning, he raised his hand, sending a large, blue bolt of ice rocketing towards me. I could feel the numbing cold as it approached, unable to raise my hand in time to deflect it. A sudden jerk on my arm sent me crashing sideways into Amy. It took me a second to realize that she'd pulled me out of the way, but before I could thank her, a second bolt hit her squarely in the chest and froze her where she stood.

I stepped forward. My hate fused with my anger and surged down my arms. My fingers crackled as I brought my hands forward. With a whiff of ozone, forks of red lightning leapt from my fingers and seized Nico. His screams became soundless as his black demon flesh peeled from raw, red bone under my assault. His eyes bulged. Wine-dark blood bubbled at his mouth and in an instant he disintegrated, leaving only a large cloud of acrid smoke behind.

"Damien! You are grounded!"

I turned slowly and met the disapproving gaze of my father, his ruby lips pulled in a tight little frown. Ashmodei held up a pale, slender hand and Lilith's green eyes were wide.

"No. I'm okay with this."

"Ash, are you – your only son!" my father said, looking at his lover in amazement.

"No. It's cool. I swear." Ashmodei shrugged indifferently then looked to his little dark-haired daughter. "Lil?"

"Well." The girl said, with a fluid shrug so very like her father's. "He _was_ a total dick."

***

My name is Kenneth James McCormick. I am fifteen years and nine months old. Today, on Saturday December 12, I died for the five hundredth time. Over the years I've discovered that I'm more likely to die on a Monday, and between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. I've asked Satan if there's a reason for this, a pattern. He only replied:

"Mondays suck."

Indeed.

Today's death was not only remarkable for breaking the 500 milestone, but for the excruciating pain and agonizing slowness of my demise. Being eviscerated by a demon is much more painful than being crushed by an errant satellite, and only slightly less painful than the intense pressure from eating too many antacids and chasing them with water. Although I only remember the resulting explosion as a white-hot burst of pain, Stan has always recalled that death as one of my best. Above all, today there was Ella.

Her petite form slowly materialized as the putrid, sulfurous smoke that marked the end of Nico, dissipated. I craned my neck to look up at her, and flipped a crooked grin, though I could feel waves of pain lapping at my chest as I did so. She looked shaken, but unharmed save for a bloody scrape on one knee that rent her tights and sent fingers of blood crawling into her boot. I saw, rather than felt, my hand extend and touch the cut. My fingers were numb, and I hoped I was being gentle. She didn't flinch.

"You're hurt." I croaked.

She looked from my splayed guts and back to my face, her expression incredulous. She took a step closer and then paused.

"I think I just stepped on your pancreas." She said, looking apologetic but faintly amused.

"I'm not using it." I replied, striving for casual, but I never got used to the way the cold crept over me during the slow deaths. I watched her take another careful step and then lean down to touch my pale face. I let my cheek rest in the warm cup of her hand and I studied her. Her face possessed none of Heidi's pouty beauty, but it was without guile. Her eyes were too pale to resemble the deep, glistening emerald of Lucky's, but they were luminescent even in the shadows of the churchyard. Her nose was too sharp, where Bebe's was a perfect taper.

Ella's lips curved and forestalled further comparisons as her face broke with a radiance that made my heart clench. I could read within her eyes the faint promise of a harbor from the tempest of my life. Her smile was second to none, and today it was for me.

"See you soon, Kenny." she said.

I could feel the quiver of her pulse against my cheek as I died.

*

**Hmm. I dunno how happy I am with this. Oh well. Sooo… I've got some notes and acknowledgements, and the epilogue – then I can put this baby to bed. **

**Need… moar… coffee.. O.o**


	19. References: NOT PART OF THE STORY

**South Park © T. Parker and M. Stone.**

**The following is NOT part of the story, merely a collection of references, author's notes and acknowledgements. Don't read if you don't care. The epilogue to this installment will follow shortly. Thank you for reading!**

*

First I'd like to thank all of my reviewers: **Sorrowsnow, ZombiesOnYourLawn, Kootie Bomb, PiScEs-BlOsSoM69, soquedhozi, pangprego and Doomed-Orange-Parka.**

Your reviews and comments were greatly appreciated and kept me going, despite this being my first fic evar and a bit of a struggle to write. You're the icing on mah cupcake.

I'd also like to thank all the anonymous readers for their time. Next time – say hi!

On Characters: I received a couple of PMs commenting on my interpretation of characters, primarily Craig Tucker and Kenny McCormick. I wanted to add a couple comments here, just in case.

On Craig: Craig is my voice of reason in the completely insane world of South Park. I tend to interpret him in a very canon way, complete with stoic reserve, monotone voice and intense pragmatism. Craig's internal monologue, as evidenced in the last chapter, tends to be somewhat more elaborate than his spoken dialogue. He's often a foil for pranks, romance and fun in general. And – as if I haven't said this already – I effing love to write him.

On Kenny: I tend to deviate in my interpretation of Kenny McCormick from both fanon and canon presentation. The girl-crazy, foul-mouthed canon Kenny and the manwhore, broken-doll fanon Kenny are both there, but in a mild form. After five hundred deaths and trips to Hell, and some of the other things that have happened in his nearly 16 years in South Park, he's become more reflective and philosophical. His love of opera/classical music and singing ability are taken directly from the episode "Quintuplets 2000" wherein he uses his mad skillz to sing his way to Romania and becomes a Romanian opera star.

References

I'm not sure I can remember all of these, but I've referenced the following specific South Park episodes:

"Quintuplets 2000" (Kenny's opera thang.)

"Cartman's Mom is a Dirty Slut" (tea parties, ftw.)

"The List" (Craig's status as the class hottie.)

"Major Boobage" (Semi-nude sandbox wrestling scene between Kenny and Gerald Broflovski. I effin love this episode to death, btw.)

"Towelie" (Self explanatory.)

Other literary/mythological sources referenced include:

The Song of Solomon.

The Gospel of Nicodemus.

The Talmud.

The Lesser Key of Solomon.

The Divine Comedy – Dante Alighieri

The Aeneid – Virgil

Various Greek myths including: The Judgment of Paris, the myth of Persephone and Hades and the myth of Cerberus.

A note about demons: Nico is completely made up, but his sister Lilith is actually a fairly well known biblical demon – a succubus. In some interpretations she is listed as Adam's first wife. Likewise, Ashmodei is another version of the demon Asmodeus – an arch-demon of lust, and supervisor of all related sins, succubae and incubi.

On OC's: I lurve them. Just cos they're fun. My interpretations of OCs tend to be more serious versions of their original selves. Feedback from owners on my manipulation of said OCs is always welcome. I don't want to mutilate your characters!

On Romance: This is a romance, I swear. You may have realized by now that this is a relatively 'squee-free' zone. After reading other romance fics here, I've come to realize that my story doesn't really read that way, I guess. The intent is still there… I think.

Again, a huge thanks for reading along this far, and thanks to all for putting up with my random, sideways, supernatural version of South Park.

*


	20. Epilogue: Quiet Mountain Town

**South Park © T. Parker and . Ella Tweak belongs to meh.**

**Other secret agents appearing in this epilogue:**

**Lucky Day: created by Doomed-Orange-Parka**

**Well. Here we are at the end of the first installment of my hopefully ongoing series of semi-supernatural South Park stories. (Alliteration ftw!) Thank you all for reading, and special thanks to those who stopped in to review and lend me their OCs. **

**The sequel "Aquae Multae" is in the works. And without further rambling:**

*

"Snooow is faaalling down from the sky….." Ella sang, hurrying along the lane, her legs cold in her Sunday dress. She waved to Pip and Butters as they passed, hand in hand. "….and some queers just went skipping by."

Craig Tucker pulled up alongside Ella in his black Rav4 and rolled down the window, his face grim under his blue chullo hat. "Ev-en Craig Tucker's frown, can't keep my heart down….." Ella skipped around to the passenger's door and pulled it open and then belted out - "Just another Sunday morning in my quiet mountain town." Craig cringed.

In the house opposite, a window rattled open. "AY! You suck! No Miss Ella! That's a bad Miss Ella!" Eric Cartman slammed the window shut, indifferent to the flashing double middle fingers he got for his trouble.

"What are you doing up so early, Herr Chublet?" Lucky Day stumbled into the kitchen, resplendent in an old t-shirt and fuzzy pajama bottoms.

"Oh… let's see…" Cartman pretended to think. "Something woke me up.. now what was it?"

Lucky stopped as she passed the table, a slip of paper catching her eye. A slip of paper with her name on it next to an empty carton of orange juice. A slip of paper covered with crumbs and smudgy fingerprints.

"_Good morning! – Clyde"_

Lucky looked up slowly. "Did Clyde bring me a note?"

"Oh thaaaat's right!" Cartman said, striking his forehead with his palm. "That idiot Clyde woke me up. He brought you a bagel and juice."

Lucky looked around the table and then back at Cartman who smiled toothily.

"What happened to my bagel?!" she demanded.

Cartman rounded the table, still smiling. Then, without warning, he belched in Lucky's face with enough force to blow her bleached bangs back from her forehead. "I have no idea, ho…" he said innocently and walked out of the kitchen.

*

Craig and Ella parted ways in the vestibule of the church, as always. Ella opened the door that led to Father Maxi's office and retrieved her acolyte robe from a rack of vestments. As Father Maxi chatted idly about the upcoming sermon, she noticed that he carefully avoided mentioning the previous evening's excitement. The angry, red hand print that encircled his neck went unmentioned.

As Ella filed out behind Father Maxi and the other acolytes, she glanced over her shoulder at a shelf in the far corner. Although the books that rested upon the shelf were dusty and disused, her eyes jumped to a thick, black volume that sat nestled amongst the rest.

*

A delicate hand shot out from underneath a pink comforter and groped along a nightstand beside the canopy bed. Seizing her ringing cell phone, Bebe Stevens sat up slightly, her hair a frightening snarl.

"Hullo?" she said blearily. "Oh, Token." She flopped back on her pillows and listened to her boyfriend chat idly about things that really could have waited until at least 10 a.m. She rolled to her side and peered at her alarm clock and moaned. "Seven thirty?!" She sighed as Token continued, her eyes coming to rest on a perfectly plump pink rose in the vase by her bedside lamp. A white card with red ink was still attached to the stem.

_For the fairest…_

*

**To be continued…**

**Hey, it's an epilogue. It's supposed to be short – or something. **

***Hush removes her hood* **

**Goodbye you guys.**

**("Mountain Town" © T. Parker and M. Stone.)**


End file.
